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The 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), also known as the "Mountain Battalion", is a Vermont Army National Guard light infantry battalion which specializes in mountainous and cold weather operations. The unit falls under the command of the Vermont Army National Guard's 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain). Before the creation of the 86th IBCT (MTN) in 2008, 3-172 IN (MTN) was recognized as the only conventional unit in the United States Army trained and equipped for mountain operations. 3-172 IN (MTN) draws strong heritage from the original 10th Mountain Division (Alpine) of World War II fame both in the type of training they conduct and in the specialized equipment the unit maintains. ==Mountain Battalion History== The initial assignment of the '172nd' designation to a unit of the Vermont National Guard by the War Department can be traced to 1 October 1921, when the 1st Infantry of Vermont was redesignated the 172nd Infantry and assigned to the 43rd Division.〔, page 52〕 The regiment served with the 86th Infantry Brigade of the 43rd Division from 1922 to 1941. The regiment was inducted into federal service on 24 February 1941 and was organized as a Regimental Combat Team for service in the Pacific. The new RCT comprised the 172d Infantry Regiment, the 103d Field Artillery Battalion and elements of Ordnance, Engineer, Medical and Signal units. The 172nd RCT almost saw disaster at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides on 26 October 1942, when its troop transport, the liner SS ''President Coolidge'', struck two U.S. mines in the harbor.〔http://www.pacificwrecks.com/ships/usn/president_coolidge.html〕 The captain, realizing that the ship was lost, attempted to run it aground so that the troops could disembark. The ship sank, but the regiment got ashore with few casualties, to fight in the New Georgia Campaign, including during the Drive on Munda Point. It was released from federal service on 1 November 1945 at Camp Stoneman, California. It was reorganized and federally recognised in October 1946; called into federal service in September 1950 and released in June 1954. On 1 June 1959 the regiment was reorganized (less elements) as a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System to consist of the 1st Battle Group, an element of the 43rd Infantry Division.〔Pope and Kondratiuk, ibid.〕 Meanwile the detached elements were consolidated with the 124th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion and converted and redesignated as the 172nd Armor, also a parent regiment under CARS. The 172nd Armor was to consist of the 1st Medium Tank Battalion and the 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron, both part of the 43rd Infantry Division. The regiments were reorganized in 1963, 1964 (when the 172nd Infantry and 172nd Armor were merged) and 1968, when the 172nd Armor was reorganised in February to comprise the 1st and 2nd Battalions, elements of the 50th Armored Division. The 172d Infantry (Regiment) (Mountain) was constituted 1 September 1982 in the Vermont Army National Guard as the 72d Infantry, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System, and organized to consist of Company A. Located in Vermont, Company A's mission was to conduct limited offensive and defensive operations and to provide support expertise to combat units engaged in mountain and winter operations. It was also tasked to provide special reconnaissance for combat units operating in these environments. Redesignated 1 April 1983 as the 172d Infantry.〔Military.com〕 Reorganized 1 December 1983 to consist of Company A and the 3d Battalion. Reorganized 1 October 1984 in the Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont Army National Guard to consist of the 3d Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain). Withdrawn 1 May 1989 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System with Headquarters at Jericho, Vermont. Reorganized 1 September 1992 in the Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont National Guard. The Mountain Battalion Headquarters, HHC, and Company A are located in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The Battalion is co-located with the Army's Mountain Warfare School. In addition to HHC and A.Co, B.Co and C.Co are located in Maine and New Hampshire respectively. D.Co and E.Co (FSC) are located in Vermont. In 2000 the Mountain Battalion developed a training relationship with the 1-508 Airborne Battalion Combat Team of the US Army's Southern European Task Force in Vincenza, Italy. The Mountain Men of the 172nd have deployed numerous times to Europe and trained side by side with the Paratroopers of SETAF and the US Army's Combined Maneuver Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany. Following combat deployments to Afghanistan (Battalion HQ), Kuwait (HHC), and Iraq (A, B, C Companies) during the War on Terrorism, the Battalion was assigned to the newly formed 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), in October, 2006. The battalion was then deployed to Eastern Afghanistan in 2010 as Task Force Avalanche. After returning from Afghanistan in 2010 the battalion was awarded the Valorous Unit Award. The battalion is the only organization in the US Army specifically organized, trained, equipped, and tasked to close with and destroy the enemy in a total mountain environment. Approximately 50% of the soldiers in the battalion are coded with the Special Qualification Identifier (SQI) "E" Military Mountaineer, which is awarded to soldiers who graduate the Military Mountaineer Basic Course at the Army Mountain Warfare School, located in Jericho, Vermont. No other unit has the capability to conduct combat operations in such extreme environments. The Mountain Infantrymen of this battalion follow a long heritage of citizen soldiers and warriors, who have served the country for almost 400 years. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「172nd Infantry Regiment (United States)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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