The 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (United States)

52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (United States)

The 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an air defense artillery regiment of the United States Army first organized in 1917.-Lineage:Organized 22 July 1917 in the Regular Army at Fort Adams, Rhode Island, as the 7th Provisional Regiment, Coast Artillery CorpsRedesignated 5 February 1918 as the...

is an air and missile defense battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

 in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 based at Fort Bliss

Fort Bliss

Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...

, Texas. Known as "five-five-deuce

Deuce

Deuce, derived from French, refers to the number two and is commonly used to refer to the 2 in poker and other card games.Deuce may also refer to:-People:*Deuce McAllister, an American football player for the New Orleans Saints...

," the battalion motto is "Fighting Deuce." The former motto was "One Team, One Fight!". The battalion is part of 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and the 32nd Army Air & Missile Defense Command

32nd Army Air & Missile Defense Command

The 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command is a one-of-a-kind theater level Army air and missile defense multi-component organization with a worldwide, 72-hour deployment mission...

 (32nd AAMDC).

The battalion consists of a headquarters and headquarters battery (HHB), four Patriot

MIM-104 Patriot

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the Raytheon Company of the United States. The Patriot System replaced the Nike Hercules system as the U.S. Army's primary High to Medium...

 missile batteries (A through D), one Avenger

M1097 Avenger

The Avenger Air Defense System, designated AN/TWQ-1 under the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, is a missile system which provides mobile, short-range air defense protection for ground units against cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, low-flying fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters...

 battery (E) and a maintenance company (Company F, formerly the 507th Maintenance Company

507th Maintenance Company

The 507th Maintenance Company was a unit of the U.S. Army which provided maintenance support to 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery , based at Fort Bliss, Texas...

). Each battery has six Patriot missile launchers in accordance with the Patriot PAC-3

MIM-104 Patriot

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the Raytheon Company of the United States. The Patriot System replaced the Nike Hercules system as the U.S. Army's primary High to Medium...

 configuration.

Invasion of Iraq

The battalion was split into three separate groups during Operation Iraqi Freedom

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

. Batteries A, B, and E, along with the 507th Maintenance Company

507th Maintenance Company

The 507th Maintenance Company was a unit of the U.S. Army which provided maintenance support to 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery , based at Fort Bliss, Texas...

 and HHB, 5-52d ADA, were assigned to 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade, under Colonel Heidi Brown, the first female Patriot

MIM-104 Patriot

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the Raytheon Company of the United States. The Patriot System replaced the Nike Hercules system as the U.S. Army's primary High to Medium...

 brigade commander, to provide air defense coverage for Coalition forces entering Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. Alpha, Bravo, Echo, and HHB batteries were provided security (prior to and during the invasion) by the Companies A and C of the 3d Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment (Florida Army National Guard) from Kuwait to Baghdad. Batteries C and D were assigned to 32d AAMDC to provide air defense coverage for Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

.

Battery D, 5-52d ADA shot down the first Scud

Scud

Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...

 launched by Iraqi forces during the opening days of the invasion. Battery C, 5-52d ADA ended the war with the highest number of intercepted missiles totaling 3, battery C also shot down a British Tornado aircraft. During the invasion, Battery E was bombed by friendly aircraft outside of FARP shell, which created a 30-by-30-foot hole and damaged the radar system. A few days later, Battery E fired two PAC-3 missiles and shot down U.S. Navy F-18 pilot Nathan White outside of the Karbala (he avoided the first missile, but not the second one). He was found dead in one of the few lakes in Iraq. This friendly fire incident sidelined Battery E, allowing Batteries A and B, 5-52d ADA to be the first Patriot batteries in Baghdad, with Battery B preceding Battery A by a few hours.

The 507th Maintenance Company

507th Maintenance Company

The 507th Maintenance Company was a unit of the U.S. Army which provided maintenance support to 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery , based at Fort Bliss, Texas...

 was ambushed during the rapid advance towards Baghdad. The unit made a wrong turn into Nasiriyah, northwest of Basra. The mistake was due to lack of rest, limited communications and human error according to a U.S. Army investigation. Several soldiers were killed and six were held as prisoners of war. Prior to invasion, 5-52d ADA had never conducted a bounding movement exercise to the extent Operation Iraqi Freedom required.
In the summer of 2005, the 507th was inactivated and reflagged as Company

Company (military unit)

A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...

 E, 5-52d ADA, reflagged again later as Company F when the battalion received an Avenger

M1097 Avenger

The Avenger Air Defense System, designated AN/TWQ-1 under the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, is a missile system which provides mobile, short-range air defense protection for ground units against cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, low-flying fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters...

 battery that became Battery

Artillery battery

In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...

 E, 5-52d ADA, during an Army-wide reorganization of Patriot battalions.

Lineage

Organized 6 July 1916 in the Regular Army at Fort Washington

Fort Washington

Fort Washington may refer to:In the United States:* In California:** Fort Washington, California, census-designated place* In Maryland:** Fort Washington, Maryland, census-designated place...

, Maryland, as the 1st Company, Fort Washington [Maryland]

Reorganized and redesignated 6 July 1917 as Battery I, 8th Provisional Regiment, Coast Artillery Corps

Reorganized and redesignated 5 February 1918 as Battery I, 53d Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps)

Redesignated 15 July 1918 as Battery E, 52d Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps)

Inactivated 16 May 1921 at Fort Eustis, Virginia

Activated 18 August 1921 at Fort Eustis, Virginia

(Additionally designated 1 June 1922 as the 227th Company, Coast Artillery Corps; additional designation abolished 1 July 1924)

Redesignated 1 July 1924 as Battery E, 52nd Coast Artillery

Reorganized and redesignated 1 May 1943 as Battery A, 285th Coast Artillery Battalion

Inactivated 5 May 1944 at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky

Disbanded 14 June 1944

Reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army, consolidated with Battery A, 52d Field Artillery Battalion (active) (see ANNEX), and consolidated unit designated as Battery A, 52d Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 24th Infantry Division

Inactivated 5 June 1958 and relieved from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division

Withdrawn 18 May 1959 from the Regular Army and allotted to the Army Reserve; concurrently redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 5th Automatic Weapons Battalion, 52d Artillery (organic elements concurrently constituted)

Redesignated 1 December 1971 as the 5th Automatic Weapons Battalion, 52d Air Defense Artillery

Redesignated 21 December 1975 as the 5th Battalion, 52d Air Defense Artillery; concurrently withdrawn from the Army Reserve, allotted to the Regular Army, assigned to the 24th Infantry Division, and activated at Fort Stewart, Georgia

Inactivated 16 November 1988 at Fort Stewart

Fort Stewart

Fort Stewart is a census-designated place and U.S. Army post primarily in Liberty County and Bryan County, but also extending into smaller portions of Evans, Long, and Tattnall Counties in Georgia, USA. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census...

, Georgia, and relieved from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division

Activated 16 September 1996 at Fort Bliss

Fort Bliss

Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...

, Texas

Annex

Constituted 1 October 1933 in the Regular Army as Battery A, 52d Field Artillery

Redesignated 26 August 1941 as Battery A, 52d Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 24th Infantry Division

Activated 1 October 1941 at Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii

Campaign participation credit

(* after campaign designated Earned Participation Credit)

World War I

• Champagne-Marne*
• St. Mihiel*
• Meuse-Argonne*
• Champagne 1918*
• Lorraine 1918*

World War II

• Central Pacific*
• New Guinea (with arrowhead)*
• Leyte*
• Luzon*
• Southern Philippines (with arrowhead)*
• Central Europe*

Korean War

• UN Defensive*
• UN Offensive*
• CCF Intervention*
• First UN Counteroffensive*
• CCF Spring Offensive*
• UN Summer-Fall Offensive*
• Second Korean Winter*
• Korea, Summer-Fall 1952*

Decorations

• Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for DEFENSE OF KOREA
• Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945
• Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for PYONGTAEK
• Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for KOREA 1952–1953