Re-flaging units

CPT Jacob Swartout — Mon, 12 May 2014 22:27:16 -0400

My former unit, 2ABCT at Ft Stewart is deactivating this year. 4IBCT is going to then re-flag as 2ABCT. Would it be more logical to just simply deactivate 4IBCT instead?

I couldn't get a good answer on this discussion at work. Just curious to know why it's done this way.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 12 at 2014 11:44 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 12 May 2014 23:44:51 -0400

That really doesn't make any sense. The only reason that I can think of is that they want the Regimental linage of 2ABCT to carry on.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made May 12 at 2014 11:50 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Mon, 12 May 2014 23:50:19 -0400

I don't know about the Army but I have seen a neat trick in my old world. for 21 years I worked for the "Naval Security Group" It was disestablished in 2003, No way in hell would we spooks cease to exist, so I figured out we have a couple new names. 10th Fleet and Naval Information Warfare Command. Someone thought they were being real cool I guess.

Response by MSG Wade Huffman made May 13 at 2014 7:32 AM

MSG Wade Huffman — Tue, 13 May 2014 07:32:24 -0400

Historically, the Army tends to maintain the units with the most notable lineage. I'm not familiar with the lineage of either of these units, but would expect that 2ABCT has a stronger lineage than 4IBCT and therefore would remain active. This happened extensively after the Gulf War when the Army went through major drawdowns.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2014 9:12 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 13 May 2014 09:12:07 -0400

They're keeping 2nd Brigade so the division will have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. It's really that simple.

As far as de-activating the existing 2BCT and then reflagging 4 BCT, I'd bet that the Bde and Bn commanders of 2BCT are due to end their tours in command this year, and their counterparts in 4BCT took command last year. That way they don't have to end a bunch of command assignments prematurely.

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made May 13 at 2014 10:22 PM

SFC William Swartz Jr — Tue, 13 May 2014 22:22:52 -0400

I think, knowing 3rd ID, they probably flipped a coin! Rock of the Marne!!

Response by LtCol Brent Norquist made May 14 at 2014 3:05 PM

LtCol Brent Norquist — Wed, 14 May 2014 15:05:50 -0400

The cynic in me always looks at something like this and wonders how many Legions of Merit for staff officers it will generate?

Response by CSM Mike Maynard made May 22 at 2014 6:09 PM

CSM Mike Maynard — Thu, 22 May 2014 18:09:10 -0400

The Institute of Heraldry makes the decision on which units case.

They actually have a point system that rank orders each of the different types of units based on the significance and importance of their lineage.

When the decision comes down to case certain colors, they use the OML to determine which ones go.