Ohio National Guard News

 

16th Engineer Brigade,
371st Sustainment Brigade
celebrate
a century of service in 2017

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Mann,
Ohio Army National Guard Historian

Photos courtesy of
Ohio Army National Guard Historical Collections

A sign greets visitors to Camp Castle, home of Task Force 16 in Puente Grande, Honduras during Fuertes Caminos ‘89. Fuertes Caminos was a six-monthlong operation that built roadways through the mountains of Honduras.

Maj. Edward Cornish (left), support operations officer in charge, 371st Sustainment Brigade, confers with Iraqi drivers at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Jan. 23, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kiyoshi C. Freeman)

The forward command post of the 37th Division Artillery (DIVARTY) on New Georgia, Solomon Islands, July 29, 1943. Brig. Gen. Leo Kreber commander of the 37th DIVARTY during World War II is on the right with 1st Lt. Lawrence Westbrook on the phone at the table and Sgt. Stanley Cavanaugh in the background.

Two officers of the 371st Artillery Group look over a map during state active duty for the September 1966 riots in Dayton, Ohio.

Brig. Gen. Harold Bush (third from left) and his staff at Camp Knox, Ky. around 1930. Known as the father of Ohio Field Artillery, Bush commanded the 62nd Field Artillery Brigade from 1922 to 1935.

During World War I, the 62nd Field Artillery Brigade was commanded by Brig. Gen. William Smith (front left), who is seen riding with his staff at Camp Sheridan, Ala. in 1917.


COLUMBUS, Ohio (08/29/17) — The Ohio Army National Guard’s 16th Engineer Brigade and 371st Sustainment Brigade celebrates 100 years of service to the state and nation. Both units were constituted on Aug. 29, 1917, as Headquarters, 62nd Field Artillery Brigade, which was an element of the 37th Division.

The two brigades join the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which celebrated its centennial on July 18, in commemorating a century of service in 2017.

During World War I, the 62nd Field Artillery Brigade, which consisted of the 134th, 135th and 136th Field Artillery Regiments, was separated from the 37th “Buckeye” Division for training on French 75mm guns. After its training ended, the brigade supported the 28th, 33rd and 92nd Divisions until the war ended.

Following World War I, the unit was expanded into two units, with the headquarters reorganizing in Columbus — now the 16th Engineer Brigade — and the headquarters battery reorganizing in Dayton — now the 371st Sustainment Brigade, with headquarters in Springfield, Ohio.

In 1942 the 6n2d was reorganized as the 37th Division Artillery (DIVARTY) and spent 592 days in combat in the Pacific. The division artillery played a major role in the success of the Buckeye Division as the division commander, Maj. Gen. Robert S. Beightler, believed in the lavish use of artillery to “let machines fight for us to the maximum.”

Following World War II, the unit was again split into separate organizations. The Headquarters in Columbus continued as the 37th DIVARTY until 1968, when it was converted to the 16th Engineer Brigade. Since 9/11, the “Iron Castle” brigade has deployed numerous units in support of the War on Terrorism, including two deployments to Iraq for the brigade headquarters.

The headquarters battery in Dayton was converted in 1946 to the 371st Antiaircraft Artillery Group and in 1972 to the 371st Support Group. The group was one of the first Ohio National Guard units to mobilize for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. In 2007, one final reorganization changed it to the 371st Sustainment Brigade where the headquarters has since deployed three times to Iraq and Kuwait in support of the War on Terrorism.

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