| Kansas Army National Guard | |
|---|---|
 Kansas Army National Guard Headquarters SSI | |
| Active | August 30, 1855–present |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Allegiance |  State of Kansas |
| Type | ARNG Headquarters Command |
| Size | more than 5,200 authorized |
| Part of |  Kansas National Guard Army National Guard |
| Garrison/HQ | City of Topeka andCity of Salina |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | BG Carlin G. Williams |
| Chief of Staff | COL Rodney Seaba |
| Insignia | |
| Kansas ARNG Headquarters DUI | .jpg) |
| Kansas ARNG Headquarters Flag |  |
| Kansas ARNG Crest |  |
| Kansas ARNG 69th Troop Command Flag |  |
TheKansas Army National Guard is a component of theArmy National Guard and theKansas National Guard. Kansas Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive allUnited States military awards. The Kansas Guard also bestows a number ofstate awards for local services rendered in or to the state ofKansas. It is, along with theKansas Air National Guard, an element of the Kansas National Guard.
The forerunner of the Kansas National Guard, the Kansas Territorial Militia, was formed on August 30, 1855. On January 29, 1861, six years after the formation of the territorial militia, Kansas became the 34th state and the Kansas Militia was organized. Article 8, Section 4 of theKansas Constitution designates the Governor of Kansasas the commander in chief for state duties. The U.S. Congress passed theMilitia Act of 1903, which organized the variousstatemilitias into the present National Guard system.[1]
The Kansas Army National Guard has been involved in the nation's conflicts since the state's inception as a territory. The Kansas Guard actively participated in the Civil War, 1861–1865; the Indian Wars, 1864–1870; Spanish–American War, 1898–1899; and thePancho Villa Expedition of 1916; and the First World War, 1917–1919.[1]
The 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Kansas Volunteer Militia was organized from existing units in 1880. The regiment was mustered into federal service in June 1916 for duty guarding the Mexican Border against invasion. The regiment served for five months at Eagle Pass, Texas. In August 1917, the 2nd Infantry Regiment was drafted into federal service. The Kansas National Guard supplied troops to the35th Infantry Division when it was organized in August 1917 as a formation with troops from Kansas and Missouri. The 2nd Infantry Regiment was consolidated with the 1st Infantry Regiment and re-designated the137th Infantry Regiment, Kansas National Guard and assigned to the 35th Division. The regiment saw duty in France and participated in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The 137th Infantry Regiment were demobilized in May 1919, after 34 months of active duty service. In November 1921, the 2nd Infantry Regiment was re-designated as the161st Field Artillery Regiment and assigned to the 35th Division.
In 1918, Kansas Army National Guard LieutenantErwin R. Bleckley, who volunteered for aviation duty, was posthumously awarded theMedal of Honor for his actions during an aerial sortie duringWorld War I. He was the first National Guard aviator to earn the award and one of only three to earn it during the 20th century.[1]
Units of the Kansas Army National Guard fought inWorld War II[1] and theKorean War from 1950 to 1952, when the 130th Field Artillery Group headquarters, the 195th Field Artillery Battalion, and the 174th Military Police Battalion were mobilized.[2]
In 1963, the69th Infantry Brigade was activated as part of the Kansas Army National Guard. During theVietnam War, the brigade, less the 3rd Battalion of the 137th Infantry, was ordered to active duty in May 1968. The brigade served atFort Carson attached to the5th Infantry Division[3] until its demobilization in December 1969. The brigade was used to provide replacements for troops in Vietnam. 40 men of the brigade were killed in action, with hundreds being wounded.[4]
In the mid-1980s, two new Army National Guard divisions were formed, drawing on existing independent brigades. The headquarters of the35th Infantry Division was reformed by the Kansas Army National Guard. The 69th Infantry Brigade joined the new division, alongside brigades from Nebraska and Kentucky.[3] In the late 1980s, aviation regiments were formed within the U.S. Army and the Army National Guard. The state maintained the 69th Infantry Brigade as part of the35th Infantry Division from the 1980s to the 1990s or later.
Kansas Army National Guard personnel also saw service during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, 1990–1991; Operations Northern and Southern Watch in Southwest Asia, 1992–2002; Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, 1992–1993; Operations Joint Endeavor, Deny Flight and Joint Guardian in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1995–2003; Operations Phoenix Scorpion, Phoenix Scorpion III and Desert Fox in Southwest Asia, 1997 and 1998; Operation Allied Force in Kosovo, 1999–present; Operation Enduring Freedom andOperation Noble Eagle, 2001–present; and Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003–2011,Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa 2010–2011.[1]
The 635th Armor Regiment was constituted in the Air National Guard on March 25, 1953, as the 891st Engineer Aviation Battalion. On August 1, 1953, it was allotted to the Kansas National Guard. It was reorganized and federally recognized January 13, 1954 with headquarters atManhattan, Kansas. The regiment was redesignated in January 1957 as the 891st Engineer Battalion. It was converted again to the 635th Armor on February 1, 1976, consisting of the 1st Battalion. In 1984 the battalion was part of the 69th Infantry Brigade.[5] It was reorganized again on March 1, 1990, to comprise the 1st and 2nd Battalions atManhattan andSalina, respectively.[6]
About 350 soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 635th Armor, departed on the first leg of a deployment to Kosovo on October 27, 2004, as part of NATO's peacekeeping operation in the former Yugoslavia. On January 27, 2006, they returned from their 15-month deployment to Kosovo. While there, they had provided force protection and fixed and roving security, as well as escort duty.[7] In October 2020, the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 137th Infantry, was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, 635th Armored, retaining its combined arms status.[8]
On 1 September 2008, the inactive 1st Battalion, 137th Infantry was consolidated with the active 635th Armored Regiment, and the consolidated unit was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, 635th Armored Regiment.
In the spring of 2004, the 2nd Battalion, 137th Infantry received their Bradley Fighting Vehicles and began training to assume an active role in Afghanistan or Iraq. The Battalion was called to active duty in early August 2005. The Battalion was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and then to the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California for pre-deployment training. They served for one year during theWar in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) from October 2005 to October 2006, with theXVIII Airborne Corps, the 3rd and the 4th Infantry Divisions. One of the battalion's soldiers waskilled in action. The 2–137th returned to Kansas in November 2006.
In March 2010, the 137th Infantry Regiment was activated for service in theGlobal War on Terror and conducted predeployment training atKansas Regional Training Center, Salina, Kansas andJoint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The unit arrived in Djibouti, Africa in May 2010 underUnited States Africa Command tasked with providing force protection toCamp Lemonnier andCombined Joint Task Force-Africa. The Battalion also supported DOD and State Department missions building capacities among partner nations across east Africa. The unit redeployed through Camp McCoy, Wisconsin in April 2011 having earned theMeritorious Unit Commendation.
The Kansas Army National Guard is commanded by Brigadier General Carlin G. Williams. Its chief of staff is Colonel Rodney Seaba, and its command sergeant major is Chris Hargis.[9]
Historic Units:
2nd Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment CAB, now called the1st Battalion, 635th Armor part of the155th Armored Brigade Combat Team. The 2/137th INF CAB was originally the 635th Armor Regiment before being deactivated in September 2008, its former troops becoming part of the 2nd Battalion (Combined Arms Battalion), 137th Infantry Regiment, consisting of two Armor companies and one infantry company; then the battalion was again redesignated back to 1-635 Armor in October 2020.
127th Field Artillery Regiment (deactivated January 28, 2007)[10]
130th Field Artillery Regiment
1st Howitzer Battalion, 235th Artillery – Divisional artillery battalion of the 35th Infantry Division 1959–1963. Reorganized from 135th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, organized 1949, which inherited the lineage of the 635th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Battalion eliminated together with 35th Infantry Division, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery atHays and Battery A atRussell became 995th Ordnance Company.[11] Heraldry inherited by 235th RTI.[12]
130th Field Artillery Brigade (reactivated October 19, 2014)[13] The brigade's history in the Kansas Army National Guard dates back to 1917, where its lineage can be traced through both World Wars as part of the 35th Infantry Division, the Korean War and, most recently, Operation Iraqi Freedom. On June 1, 1978, the 130th was redesignated as the 130th Field Artillery Brigade. In 1985 it was again redesignated as the 35th Division Artillery with the reactivation of the 35th Infantry Division. The 130th was reconstituted again on Sept. 2, 1997, in the Kansas Army National Guard in Topeka. Following its deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the brigade was inactivated on Nov. 10, 2007.
287th Sustainment Brigade[14].JPG)
The Kansas Army National Guard is authorized more than 5,200 soldiers.[15] Subordinate units within the Kansas Army National Guard include:[16]
35th Infantry Division (Mechanized) (Fort Leavenworth)
635th Regional Support Group (Topeka)[18](formed 2005 from previous 35th Infantry Division Artillery)
1st Battalion, 108th Aviation Regiment[17]
1st Battalion, 635th Armored Regiment[8][17][19][20]
891st Engineer Battalion130th Field Artillery Brigade (Manhattan)[13][21]
2nd Battalion130th Field Artillery Regiment
1st Battalion,161st Field Artillery RegimentIn 1984–85, the 69th Infantry Brigade was reported to consist of the following units:
1st Battalion, 137th Infantry,2d Battalion, 137th Infantry,1st Battalion, 635th Armor,1st Battalion, 127th Field Artillery,Troop E, 114th Cavalry,169th Engineer Company.[5]
