By Maj. William Carraway
Historian, Georgia Army National Guard
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The distinctive unit insignia of the 264th Coast Artillery Battalion with the 1914 Drill Regulations for Coast Artillery. Photo by Maj. William Carraway |
Introduction
The Georgia
Army National Guard’s 177th Engineer Battalion is based in
Statesboro with Companies A through D
based in Glennville, Douglas, Macon and Fort Gillem, respectively. The 177th
BEB provides engineering, signal and military intelligence capability to the
Macon-based 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Unit History
Headquarters
Company, 177th BEB was originally constituted in the Ga. ARNG in
Statesboro, Ga. as Battery A, 264th Coast Artillery Battalion, March 14, 1930. On
Oct. 1, 1939, the 264th CAB was reorganized as the 1st
Battalion 214th Field Artillery Group
with Battery A reorganized as Battery C. The 214th FA Group was
mobilized to the Pacific Theater of Operations and underwent reorganization in
November 1943. The 1st Battalion 214th was redesignated
the 528th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion with the Statesboro unit
redesignated as Battery C. The unit maintained this designation through the war
and was inactivated in December 1945 at Camp Stoneman, Calif.
The 528th
AAA was reestablished July 11, 1946 by the Allotment of National Guard Ground
Force Units for the State of Georgia. In October, the 528th was
consolidated into Headquarters Battery, 101st Antiaircraft Artillery
Automatic Weapons Battalion and the resulting unit was designated Headquarters
Battery, 101st Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion. The
unit was reorganized and federally recognized June 17, 1947 in Statesboro.
On August
14, 1950, the unit was ordered into federal service due to the outbreak of
hostilities in Korea. As part of the 108th Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade,
the unit was initially mobilized to Camp Bliss, Texas. The 108th provided
air defense over industrial areas from Chicago to Philadelphia until released
from federal service in April 1952.
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Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of the 101st AAA Battalion stand in the frigid cold of a Chicago Winter while waiting for their C-47 transport plane to refuel and bring them home for Christmas in 1951. Georgia National Guard Archives. |
On Oct. 1,
1953, the unit was redesignated as Headquarters Battery, 101st
Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion.
On July 1,
1959, the unit was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters Battery, 2nd
Gun Battalion, 214th Field Artillery. This unit was converted and
redesignated as Headquarters Company, 265th Engineer Battalion May 1,
1962.
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Distinctive unit insignia of the 648th Engineer Battalion |
The unit was
consolidated with Company A, 265th Engineer Battalion Jan. 1, 1968
and the units were converted and redesignated as Headquarters Battery, 2nd
Battalion 214th Field Artillery.
On Sept. 1,
1993, the unit was converted and redesignated as Detachment 1, 848th
Engineer Company. Thirty days later, the unit was expanded, reorganized and
redesignated as Headquarters Company, 648th Engineer Battalion. Assigned
to the 48th Infantry Brigade the 648th mobilized to Iraq in
2005 and returned the following year.
The 648th
was redesignated as the 48th
Special Troops Battalion September 1, 2007.
The 48th BSTB was ordered into active Federal service April 21, 2009
at home stations for service in Afghanistan with the 48th Infantry
Brigade Combat Team. The 48th BSTB was released from active federal
service May 25, 2010 and reverted to state control.
Headquarters
Company, 48th BSTB was converted and redesignated Sept. 1, 2015 as
the HHC, 177th Engineer Battalion, an element of the 48th Infantry Brigade
Combat Team.
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DUI of the 48th BSTB and 177th BEB |
Subordinate Units:
- Company A: Glenville. Federally recognized June 17,
1947
- Company B: Organized September 1, 2015 in Douglas.
Federally recognized December 1, 2015.
- Company C: Macon. Federally recognized February 26,
2008.
- Company D: Organized September 1, 1996 in Forest Park
as the 248th Military Intelligence Company
and federally recognized December 6, 1997. The 248th was
activated in March 2005 with the 48th Brigade for Operation
Iraqi Freedom. The unit returned in September 2006. The 248th
MI Co was redesignated Company B, 48th BSTB September 1, 2007.
On September 1, 2015, Company B, 48th BSTB was converted and
redesignated as Company D, 177th BEB.
Local History
Statesboro has
been home to a Georgia National Guard unit since 1903 and the founding of the
Statesboro Volunteers. The
contract for the Statesboro Armory was awarded May 29, 1961. On
May 20, 1962, The Statesboro Armory was dedicated to the late Prince H.
Preston, Jr., a former member of the Ga. National Guard and member of Congress
from Georgia’s 1st District from 1947 to 1961. At the time of the
Armory dedication, Statesboro was home to the 265th Engineer
Battalion. In
2006, the armory was rededicated in memory of Brig. Gen. Terrell Reddick, a
resident of Statesboro who served as deputy commander of the Ga. ARNG and
commander of the 78th Troop Command.
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The Statesboro Armory, home of the 177th BEB Sept. 5, 2020. Photo by Maj. William Carraway |
CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION CREDIT
War
on Terrorism
Campaigns
to be determined.
Headquarters and
Headquarters Company (Statesboro) and Company A (Glennville) each additionally entitled
to:
World War II
East Indies
Papua
New
Guinea
Luzon
War
on Terrorism
Campaigns
to be determined.
Company
D (Forest Park), additionally entitled to:
War
on Terrorism
Campaigns
to be determined.
DECORATIONS
Meritorious
Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN 2009-2010
Headquarters and
Headquarters Company (Statesboro) and Company A (Glennville) each additionally
entitled to:
Presidential
Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered PAPUA
Philippine
Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945