The 177th Engineer Battalion

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Soldiers of the 177th BEB in the country of Georgia in 2020 and Fort Stewart, Ga. in 2024.  

Early History and World War II

Insignia of the 264th CAB.
Georgia National Guard Archives.

Statesboro has been home to a Georgia National Guard unit since 1903 and the founding of the Statesboro Volunteers.[1] Today, Statesboro is home to the Headquarters Company, 177^th Brigade Engineer Battalion.

 

The Headquarters Company was originally constituted in the Georgia Army National Guard as Battery A, 264^th Coast Artillery March 14, 1930.[2] On October 1, 1939, the 264^th CA was reorganized as the 1^st Battalion 214^th Field Artillery Group[3] with Battery A reorganized as Battery C. The 214^th was mobilized to the Pacific Theater of Operations and underwent reorganization in November 1943. The 1^st Battalion 214^th was redesignated the 528^th 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 528^th AAA was reestablished July 11, 1946, by the Allotment of National Guard Ground Force Units for the State of Georgia. In October the 528^th was consolidated into Headquarters Battery, 101^st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion with the Statesboro units designated Headquarters Battery and Battery A, 101^st Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion.[4] Upon consolidation, the unit inherited the lineage and honors of the 101^st CAB which received the Presidential Unit Citation for its service in Papua and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, for service from October 17, 1944, to July 4, 1945.[5] The unit was federally recognized June 17, 1947.[6]

Soldiers of the Statesboro-based 101st AAA Battalion at Camp McCoy, Wis. in November 1951.  Georgia National Guard Archives.

 

The Korean War Mobilization and Reorganizations

On August 14, 1950, the unit was ordered into federal service due to the outbreak of hostilities in Korea. As part of the 108^th Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade, the unit was initially mobilized to Camp Bliss, Texas. The 108^th AAA provided air defense over industrial areas from Chicago to Philadelphia until released from federal service in April 1952.[7]

 

On July 1, 1959, the Statesboro units were reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters Battery and Battery A, 2^nd Gun Battalion, 214^th Field Artillery.[8] The Statesboro units were converted and redesignated as Headquarters Company and Company A, 265^th Engineer Battalion May 1, 1962.[9]

 

The Statesboro armory in 2017.  Photo by Capt. William Carraway

The contract for the Statesboro armory was awarded May 29, 1961.[10] On May 20, 1962, The armory was dedicated to the late Prince H. Preston, Jr., a former member of the Ga. National Guard and Congressman from Georgia’s 1^st District from 1947 to 1961.

 

The 48^th AD Era

In 1963, the Georgia National Guard received all personnel allotments for the 48^th Armor Division. As part of the ensuing reorganization, the Statesboro units were consolidated to form Headquarters Company, 3^rd Battalion 121^st Infantry Regiment.[11] With the inactivation of the 48^th AD January 1, 1968, the Statesboro unit was reorganized as Headquarters Battery, 2^nd Battalion, 214^th Field Artillery Regiment.[12]

 

Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 214th Field Artillery at their Statesboro Armory August 29, 1993. Georgia National Guard Archives

Conversion and The Global War on Terror

On September 1, 1993, the unit was converted and redesignated as Detachment 1, 848^th Engineer Company.[13] One month later, the unit was expanded, reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters Company and Company A of the newly-established 648^th Engineer Battalion with additional companies in Waycross, Douglas and Baxley.[14] Following the 1994 flood of Southwest Georgia from the effects of Tropical Storm Alberto, Soldiers and equipment of the 648th Engineer Battalion were employed repairing roads and assisting recovery operations.

 

Insignia of the 648th Engineer Battalion.

Company C, 648^th mobilized to Bosnia with the 48^th Brigade in 2001. In December 2004,
the battalion was ordered into active duty for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 648^th deployed to Iraq in 2005 and returned the following year.

 

The 648^th Engineer Battalion was redesignated as the 48^th Special Troops Battalion September 1, 2007, with the Statesboro units redesignated Headquarters Company and Company A.[15] The 48^th BSTB was ordered into active federal service April 21, 2009, at home stations for service in Afghanistan with the 48^th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The 48^th BSTB was released from active federal service May 25, 2010, and reverted to state control. In recognition of its outstanding service rendered in support of the 48^th IBCT in Afghanistan, the 48^th BSTB was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation.

Soldiers of the 48th BSTB during the 48th IBCT's  Exportable Combat Training Capability Exercise 12-04 at Camp Ripley, Minn. August 15, 2012.
Georgia National Guard Archives.

 On September 1, 2013, Company A, 48^th BSTB relocated to Glennville, Ga.[16] Exactly two years later, the Special Troops Battalion was converted and redesignated the 177th Engineer Battalion.[17] Lieutenant Colonel Kris Marshall and Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Logan became the first command team of the 177^th. Soldiers of the 177^th supported the 48^th IBCT’s Exportable Combat Training Capability exercise at Fort Stewart in June 2017 and mobilized with the brigade during its deployment to Afghanistan from 2018 to 2019. In June 2022, the 177th BEB once again mobilized to Fort Stewart Georgia in support of a 48th IBCT XCTC rotation.

As organized, the 177^th retained the mission of supporting the 48^th IBCT while expanding upon the core engineer capabilities of the unit. The signal company of the BEB contributes to the IBCT’s awareness of the operating picture and keeps the brigade in constant contact with higher and subordinate units. The military intelligence capability of the BEB, housed in its MI Company provides the decision-quality information to the brigade commander. The BEB’s unmanned aerial surveillance capability enhances this information collection and analysis role. In addition to a headquarters company and two combat engineer companies, a forward support company completes the organization of the BEB.

U.S. Army Soldiers with the Glennville-based Alpha Company, 177th BEB participate in the closing ceremony for Noble Partner 20 at Vaziani Training Area,
Georgia, September 18, 2020. Photo by Sgt. Jordan Trent.

The equipment and specially trained personnel of the 177^th BEB have placed them in high demand for domestic response operations. 177^th engineers have assisted Georgia citizens during hurricane response operations and throughout the state’s coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 177^th has also maintained a steady operational training schedule over the years and mobilized overseas in support of exercise Noble Partner in the Country of Georgia in September 2020. Nearly 30 Soldiers of the 177^th BEB mobilized to the U.S. border with Mexico in October 2023 providing support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Soldiers of the 177th BEB clear debris in Bulloch County, Georgia August 7, 2024 following Tropical Storm Debby. Photo by Spc. Jorge Leon.

 

The capabilities of the 177^th BEB were pressed into service following the impact of Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024. The Soldier supported Bulloch and Bryan Counties with debris removal and route clearance. In Sylvania, the heavy equipment and engineering expertise of the 177^th were leveraged to repair a dam.

 

The following month, in response to Hurricane Helene, the 177^th BEB conducted route clearance in Lowndes, Coffee, Wheeler, Montgomery and Bulloch Counties. Fanning out across Southeast Georgia in heavy debris clearance teams and chainsaw teams, the Soldiers of the 177^th cleared more than 470 miles of roads enabling first responders to continue essential services and allow the forward movement of relief supplies.

 

 

Pics:

 

1st Battalion, 264th Coastal Artillery Regiment, Medical Department Detachment, 1939. Top Row: Private William D. Franklin, Pvt. I. V. Simmons, Pfc. Gerald D. Groover. Bottom Row: Sgt. Albert Green Pvt. James Deal.

 

STATESBORO, Ga. November, 1949 – The Statesboro-based Headquarters Battery and Battery A, 101st Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion paid Guardsmen in silver dollars to show the merchants of Statesboro how much money the Guard brings into circulation each month.

 

Soldiers of the Statesboro-based 648^th Engineer Battalion at annual training at Fort Stewart in 1996.

 

CAMP RIPLEY, Minn., August 15 2012 -- Warriors of BSTB roll into action as part of a vehicle recovery mission during the Brigade’s Exportable Combat Training Capability exercise 12-04 at Camp Ripley, Minn.

 

GEORGIA GARRISON TRAINING CENTER, Fort Stewart, Ga. Sept. 20, 2013 — Benjamin Meyers, infantryman with Headquarter and Headquarters Company, Brigade Special Troops Battalion uses all of his strength to pull the bolt of his Mark 19 to the rear before firing. The 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Soldiers are getting to conduct several live fire exercises like this while at their eXportable Combat Training Capabilities rotation.

 

Georgia Army National Guard soldier Spc. Delonda Sims, assigned to the Statesboro-based 177th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, disinfects a resident’s room at Lumber City Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Lumber City, Georgia on May 6, 2020. Spc. Sims is one of over 1,000 Georgia National Guard service members conducting infection control team missions in response to COVID-19.

 

U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Luis Villanueva

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel Dan Chicola assumed command of the Statesboro-based 177th Brigade Engineer Battalion during a ceremony at the Macon Readiness Center, home of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Dec. 7, 2019. Photo by Maj. William Carraway

 

U.S. Army Soldiers with the Glennville-based Alpha Company, 177th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard participate in the closing ceremony for Noble Partner 20 at Vaziani Training Area, Georgia, Sept. 18, 2020. The Georgia National Guard and the country of Georgia have participated in the National Guard State Partnership program for 26-years ensuring interoperability, functionality, and regional stability. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jordan Trent)

 

U.S. Army Soldiers with the Statesboro-based 177th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard, render honors during the brigade change of command ceremony Oct. 17, 2021, at Volunteer Headquarters in Macon, Georgia. The brigade held a change of command ceremony where Col. Anthony Fournier relinquished command to Col. Jason Baker. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. William Carraway)

 

Knock, Knock

Georgia National Guardsmen from the Statesboro-based 177th Brigade Engineer Battalion detonate a demolition charge to clear a wire obstacle at a live demolition training range during Noble Partner 20, Sept. 14, 2020. Noble Partner 20 provides vital opportunities, not only for multiple U.S. services to work together, but also for integrated, total force training with U.S. National Guard units and our partner nations’ militaries to ensure interoperability. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class R.J. Lannom Jr.

 

Soldiers of Headquarters Company, 177th Brigade Engineer Battalion discuss the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s Exportable Combat Training Capability exercise at Fort Stewart, Ga. June 12, 2022, with Brig. Gen. Dwayne Wilson, commanding general of the Georgia Army National Guard and Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Logan, State Command Sergeant Major of the Georgia Army National Guard.

 

Debby Debris

Soldiers of the 177^th BEB clear debris in Bulloch County, Georgia August 7, 2024 following Tropical Storm Debby. Photo by Spc. Jorge Leon.

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[1] The Adjutant General, State of Georgia. Official Register of the National Guard of Georgia for 1916. Atlanta: 1916.

 

[2] Military Department of the State of Georgia. Pictorial Review of the National Guard of the State of Georgia. Atlanta: 1939, 215.

 

[3] Center for Military History. “Lineage and Honors of the 1-214^th Field Artillery Regiment.” U.S. Army.

[4] Center for Military History. “Lineage and Honors of the 1-214^th Field Artillery Regiment.” U.S. Army.

 

[5] (HHC [then HHC 101st Coast Arty BN] cited for period 23 Jul 1942 - 23 Jan 1943; WDGO 17, 1945 and DAGO 47, 1950).

 

[6] NG AROTO 325.4 March 17, 1958.

 

[7] Center for Military History. “Lineage and Honors of the 1-214^th Field Artillery Regiment.” U.S. Army.

 

[8] RA 73-59 June 10, 1959 effective July 1, 1959.

 

[9] RA 47-62 April 16, 1962 effective May 1, 1962.

 

[10] State of Georgia Department of Defense. Annual Report, 1962. Atlanta: 1963, Sec XIV.

[11] RA 57-63 March 21, 1963 Effective April 16, 1963.

 

[12] RA 71-67 December 14, 1967, effective January 1, 1968.

 

[13] OA 169-93 August 9, 1993 effective September 1, 1993.

 

[14] OA 170-93 August 9, 1993 effective October 1, 1993.

 

[15] OA 112-08 Ma7 21, 2008 effective September 1, 2007.

[16] OA 180-14 April 14, 2014 effective September 1, 2013.

 

[17] OA 434-14, Corrected Copy 1, 3 February 2015.

History of the 170th MP Battalion

By Major William Carraway

Historian, Georgia National Guard

 

Left: The colors of the 170th MP Battalion during a July 16, 2022 change of command ceremony. Right: Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 122nd Infantry
Regiment participate in a machine gun drill with an M1917A1 water-cooled machine gun in 1939. Georgia National Guard Archives. 

Formation and Early History[1]

The predecessor unit of the 170^th MP Battalion was organized and federally recognized March 5, 1924 in the Georgia National Guard in Atlanta as Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion and Company C, 200th Infantry. On June 9, 1924, the unit was redesignated as Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, and Company C, 122d Infantry Regiment.

 

On July 1, 1939, the unit was converted and redesignated as Headquarters Battery and Combat Train, 1st Battalion, and Battery C, 179th Field Artillery. One year later the unit was reorganized and redesignated  July 1, 1940, as Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 179th Field Artillery.

 

Collar discs and unit insignia of the 179th Field Artillery Battalion, and its predecessor, the 122nd Infantry Regiment, are flanked by source books
used in the writing of this chapter. Photo by Maj. William Carraway.

World War II[2]

The 179^th FA was inducted into federal service February 24, 1941, in Atlanta. After one week at home station, the 179th was sent to Camp Blanding near Jacksonville, Fla. along with their newly issued 155 Schneider Howitzers to begin initial training.[3] Upon arrival at Camp Blanding, the 179th, under the command of Col. Thomas Alexander, was assigned to the 74th Field Artillery Brigade, IV Corps.[4] Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 179th was employed as part of the coastal defenses near Jacksonville.

 

The 179th remained at Camp Blanding through the winter of 1941, and in March 1942, moved by truck to Camp Shelby, Miss. The trip took the battalion three days to complete.[5] During their stay at Camp Shelby, the 179th participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers and conducted firing drills.

 

Technical manual that belonged to Staff Sgt. Charles
Turner, 179th FA. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On February 8, 1943, the 179th Field Artillery Regiment underwent its most dramatic transformation since its conversion from the 122nd Infantry Regiment four years previous. The second battalion was designated the 945th Field Artillery Battalion while the 1st Battalion was designated the 179th FA Battalion. The former regimental headquarters constituted the 179th FA Group.[6] The predecessor units of the 170th MP Battalion were reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters Battery and Battery C, 179th Field Artillery Battalion.

 

On March 7, 1943, the 179th FA relocated to Fort Sill, Okla. with the 945th FA arriving the next month. Shortly after arrival, the battalions participated in the Tennessee Maneuvers. At the conclusion of the maneuvers in March 1944, the battalions returned to Camp Gruber where their howitzers were upgraded to the M1 155 mm Howitzer.[7] Shortly thereafter, the units received their mobilization alert.

 

After a four-day train ride, the battalions reached Camp Myles Standish, Mass. In the last days of June.[8] On July 2, the battalions boarded the USS Brazil, a converted luxury liner, and set sail for Scotland the next day.[9]

 

After ten days sailing over rough seas, enduring cramped quarters, the Soldiers arrived in Gourock Scotland, the same port in which the Georgia National Guard’s 230th FA Battalion had arrived nearly five months earlier.[10] The next day the battalions travelled by train to Warwickshire, England. There, the battalions received their full allotment of combat equipment and vehicles and calibrated their howitzers for accurate fire. In preparation for movement to France, the battalions were assigned to the Third Army, 182nd Field Artillery Group.

 

In the late hours of August 12, 1944, while German armor was withdrawing from Mortain, the 179th FA arrived off the coast of Utah Beach along with the Georgia National Guard’s 945th Field Artillery Battalion. Although their landing occurred more than two months after the D-Day Landings of June 6, 1944, the night sky was alive with tracer fire and artillery. From the landing ships, the Soldiers could observe a U.S. Navy destroyer engaging some inland target which was illumined only by the impact of rounds against the black mass of the French countryside. The Artillerymen would soon send their own rounds against German targets in the effort to liberate the continent.

 

Headquarters Battery, 179th FA. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The battalions moved off the beach and encamped near St. Mere Eglise on August 13 where they spent a jittery first night in a war zone. The battalions continued on to Le Mans where they rendezvoused with XII Corps. Having linked up with Patton’s Army, the battalion had its first brush with the enemy when German stragglers, attempting to reach their own line, blundered into contact with the battalion. Though shots were fired, no casualties were reported on either side.[11] were poised to participate in the campaigns of the Third Army crossing France, participating in the Battle of the Bulge and proceeding on to Germany.

 

After their brush with the enemy, the 179th was attached to the Fourth Armor Division, XII Corps, 177th Field Artillery Group which had just wrapped up operations in the St. Lo breakthrough. Rendezvousing with the Fourth Armor at Chevilly, the battalion continued on to Montargis where, on August 22, they established firing positions and fired their first shots of the war. In their first action, the 179th accounted for 14 enemy artillery pieces and more than 400 German casualties.[12]

 

The 179th continued its eastward drive with the Fourth AD through Vaucoulers, where the Georgia National Guard’s 151st Machine Gun Battalion trained before its employment in the trenches of the Western Front in 1918. Resupplied, the division continued eastward on September 10 and established a bridgehead over the Moselle River. Effecting the crossing, the 179th advanced to Luneville, France, where the 151st had entered the trenches in March 1918. Turning west, the division met stubborn German resistance at Fresnes en Saulnois where the 179th traded artillery fire with the enemy for five days.[13] For their actions, the 179th was recommended for the Presidential Unit Citation.

 

Battery C, 179th FA. Georgia National Guard Archives.

From September 28 to November 1, the 179th was held in a defensive position to await the buildup of combat power for an offensive operation. Moving out, the battalion reached Lanfroicourt where a tremendous artillery barrage occurred along a 55-mile front.[14] The ensuing infantry assault drove the German lines back and the 179th pursued with the 4th AD to Fenetrange where they linked up with the Seventh Army.

 

By December, the division had reached Rimling where the battalion fired on objectives across the border in Germany.

 

Reassigned to the Third Army, the battalion rushed to Belgium December 20 following German advances. By the 24th of December, the 179th, in support of the 26th Division, had established firing positions near Nagen, Belgium where they engaged German forces on the left flank of the enemy breakthrough.

 

On January 1, 1945, then assigned to the III Corps in support of the 35th Division, the battalion continued to hammer German forces near Boulaide, Luxembourg firing up to 1,000 shells a day despite desperately cold weather. On January 8, the battalion, following the 4th AD moved to relieve the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne.

 

After establishing holding positions in Luxembourg, the 179th was again attached to the 4th AD on February 24 and crossed into Germany at Vianden. Breaking the Siegfried Line defenses, the division drove on to Bitburg and Coblenz. Bypassing Coblenz, the division maneuvered south through Worms nd reached the Rhine, where the 179th FA became the first unit of Third Army to fire a shot across the river preparatory to crossing the Rhine March 24.  Advancing on the Main River, the 179th fired on Frankfurt before crossing the river five days later. Reaching the Autobahn, the division’s advance accelerated. Attached to the 90th Division, the 179th reached Leipzig. On May 4, again attached to the 4th AD, the 179th advanced to Berchtesgaden. Ordered to proceed to Prague, the 179th was in motion when the cease fire was announced.

 

In 266 days in Europe, the 179th fired nearly 49,000 rounds earning seven Silver Stars and 118 Bronze Star Medals. After serving in the European Operations, the 179^th FA was inactivated December 9, 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry, Va.

 

Post WWII Reorganizations

Upon the reorganization of the Georgia National Guard in July 1946, the 179^th FA Battalion was assigned to the 48th Infantry Division.[15] The 179^th was reorganized and federally recognized May 2, 1947, in Atlanta.[16] On November 1, 1955, the 48^th was reorganized as the 48th Armor Division and the 179^th was redesignated as Headquarters Battery and Battery C, 179th Armored Field Artillery Battalion.[17]

 

ATLANTA, April 21, 1955 Two- and-1/2-ton trucks of the 179th Field Artillery, 48th Armor Division, move out from
the Atlanta Armory during Operation Minuteman. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Subsequent reorganizations in 1959[18] and 1963 established the unit as Headquarters Battery and Battery C, 1st Rocket Howitzer Battalion, 179th Artillery and Headquarters and Service Battery and Battery D, 1st Battalion, 179th Artillery, respectively.

FORT STEWART, Ga.  1959 - Two 8-inch self-propelled howitzers of the 1st Rocket/Howitzer Battalion, 179th Artillery from Atlanta, Ga.
during annual training of the 48th Armor Division at Fort Stewart, Ga.  Image courtesy of the National Guard Educational Foundation, Washington D.C.

 

A reorganization of the 48^th Armor Division January 1, 1968, consolidated Headquarters and Service Battery and Battery D. The consolidated unit was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 170th Military Police Battalion.[19]

 

Unit Insignia of the 170^th MP Battalion.

On February 24, 1971, the US Army Institute of Heraldry approved the distinctive unit insignia of the 170^th Military Police Battalion. The colors green and yellow represent the Military Police. The gothic arch symbolizes the areas comprising the Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns and is used to represent the unit's participation there as the 179^th Field Artillery Regiment during World War II. Red and green refer to the French Croix de Guerre awarded the unit for action along the Moselle River represented by the wavy beam. The fleur-de-lis is symbolic of France and refers to both the Normandy and the Northern France campaigns. The black disc simulates a cannon ball and together with the colors scarlet and gold (yellow) alludes to artillery, the unit's former designation. A doorway implies protection and barrier, and with the scale of justice, refers to the overall mission of the organization. The unit motto, first in peace and in war is inherited from the 122nd Infantry Regiment which was redesignated the 179^th Field Artillery Regiment in 1939.[20]

 

The 170th MP Battalion was initially comprised of a headquarters detachment and the 178^th and 190^th MP Companies.. The 178^th was organized in Monroe where it is currently stationed. Originally organized in Atlanta, the 190^th relocated to Kennesaw in 1997 after a brief stationing at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.[21]

On September 30, 1999, Headquarters Detachment, 170^th MP Battalion was consolidated with the 190^th MP Company. The 190^th MP Company carried forward the lineage and heritage of the 170^th.[22]

 

Soldiers of the Monroe-based 178th Military Police Company march onto the parade field during the opening ceremony for Agile Spirit 19
at Vaziani Training Area on July 27, 2019. Photo by Spc. Isaiah Matthews.

Modern Era

The 170th was reorganized in Decatur September 1, 2007,[23] and on September 1, 2019, the 190^th MP Company was consolidated with Headquarters Detachment. The lineage of the original 170^th MP Battalion was thus restored to the 170th.[24] As of this date, the 170th MP Battalion with the 178th and 179th MP Companies were assigned to the Marietta-based 201st Regional Support Group.

Georgia National Guard Infection Control Teams from the 265th Chemical Battalion and the 170th Military Police Battalion assist personnel
of the Saide G. Mays Health and Rehabilitation Center in Atlanta, Georgia, to disinfect the facility in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus,
April 5, 2020. Photo by Major Charles W. Westrip.

Units of the 170th have mobilized repeatedly in support of overseas operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and have supported training missions overseas, most recently in the country of Georgia. The 170th has assisted with security operations following natural disasters such as Hurricanes Irma, Michael, Dorian, Ida and Helene. In 2020 and 2021, the 170th MP Battalion was heavily involved in the state’s coordinated response to the Coronavirus pandemic and in civil unrest responses in Georgia and Washington DC. In January 2023, the 170th was mobilized to Atlanta in anticipation of possible civil unrest.

 

Soldiers of the 170th Military Police Battalion stage in Atlanta in anticipation of possible civil unrest January 27, 2023. Photo by Capt. Robbie Russell.

2024 was a busy year for the 170th MP Battalion. The 178th MP Company mobilized to Kuwait in October 2023 and returned August 6, 2024. The 179th Military Police Company, 201st RSG mobilized 160 personnel to Drawsko Pornorskie, Poland for Exercise Immediate Response 24 from April 27 to May 21, 2024. In August 2024, Soldiers of the 170th MP Battalion assisted the 3rd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment with civil response training. The unit was activated in response to Hurricanes Debby and Helene in September and October 2024. 

Composite: Left to right: The command team of the 170th MP Battalion visits Soldiers of the 179th MP Company in Poland May 23, 2024. The 178th MP
Company returned from Kuwait August 6, 2024. Soldiers of the 179th MP Company, 170th Military Police Battalion, partner with the Augusta Fire
Department to distribute cases of water and bags of ice in Augusta, Georgia October 1, 2024. Photo by Sgt. Thomas Norris.

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[1] Center for Military History. “190^th MP Company Lineage and Honors Certificate.”

[2] Center for Military History. “190^th MP Company Lineage and Honors Certificate.”

[3] Historical and Pictorial Review 179th Field Artillery. The Army and Navy Publishing Company, Nashville 1941, 18.

[4] 74th Field Artillery Brigade, U.S. Army, Camp Blanding, Fla., 1941.

[5] History and Battle Record of 179 F.A. Bn., 1857-1945, (Regensburg, Germany: Frederich Putset, 1945), 1.

[6] War Department, General Order #1, March 3, 1943.

[7] William M. Cosgrove, Time on Target: the 945th Field Artillery Battalion in World War II, (W. M. Cosgrove III, 1997), 39.

[8] History and Battle Record of 179 F.A. Bn., 1857-1945, (Regensburg, Germany: Frederich Putset, 1945), 4.

[9] History and Battle Record of 179 F.A. Bn., 1857-1945, (Regensburg, Germany: Frederich Putset, 1945), 4.

[10] William Carraway, “First to Fire: The Georgia National Guard’s 230th Field Artillery in Normandy” June 27, 2019 http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2019/06/first-to-fire-georgia-national-guards.html

[11] History and Battle Record of 179 F.A. Bn., 1857-1945, (Regensburg, Germany: Frederich Putset, 1945), 11.

[12] History and Battle Record of 179 F.A. Bn., 1857-1945, (Regensburg, Germany: Frederich Putset, 1945), 11.

[13] History and Battle Record of 179 F.A. Bn., 1857-1945, (Regensburg, Germany: Frederich Putset, 1945), 13.

[14] History and Battle Record of 179 F.A. Bn., 1857-1945, (Regensburg, Germany: Frederich Putset, 1945), 14.

[15] Center for Military History. “190^th MP Company Lineage and Honors Certificate.”

[16] Center for Military History. “190^th MP Company Lineage and Honors Certificate.”

[17] National Guard Bureau, NG AROTO325.4 October 17, 1955.

[18] National Guard Bureau, RA 73-59 10 June 1959.

[19] National Guard Bureau, RA 71-67 December 14, 1967, effective January 1, 1968.

[20] The Institute of Heraldry. “Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 170^th MP Battalion.” https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=7011&CategoryId=3937&grp=2&menu=Uniformed%20Services&from=search.

[21] National Guard Bureau, OA 199-97 August 22, 1997, effective September 1, 1997.

[22] National Guard Bureau, OA 252-90 October 11, 1990 effective September 30, 1990.

[23] National Guard Bureau, OA 97-05 October 28, 2005, effective September 1, 2007.

[24] National Guard Bureau, OA 337-19 November 18, 2019 effective September 1, 2019.