World War I Activation of the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment The United States declared war on Germany 6 April 1917 less than two months after the last Arkansas National Guard units completed mustering out from duty on the Mexican border. At this time the Arkansas Guard consisted of two infantry regiments, the 1st and 2nd Arkansas, which had each been mobilized for service on the Mexican border. The
National Defense Act of 1916 had provided for a massive expansion of the National Guard, from a force of just over 100,000 to over 400,000. While a 3rd Arkansas Infantry had existed in the Arkansas State Guard prior to the
Spanish–American War, the unit had been inactivated and never reorganized following the war with Spain. On 17 April 1917, plans for the 3rd Arkansas Regiment were formulated: new units were to be raised in sixteen cities to support the new regiment. On 16 May 1917, it was announced that Little Rock was one of the cities to be allowed a new infantry company which would be part of the 3rd Arkansas Regiment. 1LT Hower Brewer, a doctor from Johnson county, had returned from medical service on the Mexican Border to form a company for the new regiment. When Brewer issued a call for volunteers, 415 men reported for enlistment, and 161 passed the physically exam. During the summer of 1917 these recruits camped on the Johnson courthouse lawn until they were mustered into the service as Company L, of the Third Arkansas. Enlistments were to be for the duration of the war. The pay per month for the enlisted men was as follows: To qualify for a commission in the Guard, an individual had to be a former officer or private of the Guard, officer on reserve or unassigned list, active or retired officer of the regular Army, Navy or Marine Corps; graduate of the United States Military or Naval Academy or graduate of a school, college or university where military science under a regular army officer was taught.
Mobilization On 18 May 1917, the Arkansas National Guard was notified that on 5 August 1917, the Guard as a whole would be called into federal service. On 16 July 1917, the 3rd Arkansas included the following units: On 18 July 1917, it was announced that Arkansas National Guard would move to
Alexandria, Louisiana, for training as part of the Eighteenth Division. Alexandria, Louisiana, was the location of
Camp Beauregard which was named after
General P. G. T. Beauregard, C.S.A. The 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment mobilized 5 August and was encamped around the new state capitol by 8 August. The 2nd and 3rd Infantry Regiments were examined for Federal service on 6 August 1917, at Ft. Brough (located on the Capital grounds). The regiments, under the control of General Wood, were sent to Ft. Roots and moved to
Camp Pike by 24 August 1917. The Commander of the supply company of the 3rd Arkansas received instructions from the Augusta Arsenal to go into the open market and buy mess kits to complete the equipment needed for the new regiments. In mid-September the Arkansas units were notified that they were to be part of a newly created division, initially called the 18th but later re-designated as the
39th Division. and set off on a train journey to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, lasting about fourteen hours; they mustered into federal service 27 September – 18 October 1917. The 1st Arkansas Infantry became the
153rd Infantry Regiment, the 2nd Regiment (minus its Machine Gun Company) became the
142nd Field Artillery Regiment. The 3rd Arkansas Infantry, which had reported to Camp Beauregard with over 1800 soldiers, was divided into two new units. The following units were created, from the old 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment: •
154th Infantry Regiment • 141st Machine Gun Battalion. The 141st Machine Gun Battalion was composed of members of the former 3rd Battalion, 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment and the Machine Gun Company from the 2nd Arkansas Infantry. The 18th Infantry Division was re-designated as the 39th "Delta" Division, U.S.N.G., and the Arkansas units were assigned to the 77th Infantry Brigade (153rd Infantry, 154th Infantry, and the 141st Machine Gun Battalion).
Deployed to France In May 1918, twenty percent of the privates of the 39th Division were given the opportunity to volunteer for immediate overseas duty. In the rush to help end the war officers resigned their commissions so they would be qualified for duty overseas before the war was over. The officers did not accompany their troops but remained at Camp Beauregard with the other eighty percent of the troops who were still in training. As result the first Arkansas National Guard soldier to die in combat during World War I, Private Robert Springer, a former member of the 3rd Arkansas, was killed before the unit had even left Camp Beauregard. The first unit of the 39th Division arrived in France on 12 August 1918, and the last unit arrived on 12 September 1918. It was then sent to the St. Florent area, southwest of Bourges, where it was designated as a replacement division. In November 1918, it moved to St. Aignan. There several of the units were transferred to combat divisions. The 141st Machine Gun Battalion was deployed to near Chaumont, Department of
Haute-Marne, France. Soon after reaching its billets an order was received from G. H. Q. designating this unit as the 141st Anti-aircraft Machine Gun Battalion and ordering it to proceed to Langres, France for training. The organization finished the war at Noigent waiting for transportation. Letters from soldier of the 3rd Arkansas were received in Arkansas. The unit returned to the United States and was discharged in 1919. Demobilized 13 January 1919 at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana.
Between the World Wars As a part of the reorganization and expansion of the National Guard that followed the passage of the
National Defense Act of 1916 Arkansas was allotted an Anti Aircraft Machine Gun Battalion and was authorized under orders from the War Department to reorganize the 141st Machine Gun Battalion. The unit received federal recognition on 21 June 1921. The unit was stationed as follows:
Birth of 206th The 141st Machine Gun Battalion (Anti Aircraft) was reorganized and redesignated in 1923 as the
206th Coast Artillery (Anti Aircraft). The units of the former 141st became the 2nd Battalion of the newly formed 206th Coast Artillery (Anti Aircraft). While the 2nd Battalion headquarters initially remained at Nashville, this changed in the mid-1920s when several of the 206th Coast Artillery units were restationed in order to place them at the state's colleges. The 206th batteries stationed at state colleges were made up of the cadet corps for the newly formed Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) located at the colleges. Often the officers of these batteries were drawn from the college faculty while the soldiers were students. By 1932 the unit was stationed as follows:
Training 206th Coast Artillery often traveled out of state to conduct training at U.S. Army facilities due to the lack of artillery ranges within the state. The 206th Coast Artillery conducted summer encampments at: • Fort Sill, OK, 1925, 1926, and 1927 • Fort Barrancas, FL, 1931, 1932, 1933 and 1934, • Fort Sheridian, IL, 1935 • Camp Palacios, Texas • Fort Snelling, MN, 1940 • and Camp Pike, AR.
World War II The 206th Coast Artillery Regiment (CA) was inducted into federal service 6 January 1941 at home stations as a part of a one-year mobilization of the National Guard in preparation for World War II. Later the regiment moved to Fort Bliss, Texas and conducted its initial training.
"To the Nickel" The 206th (CA) competed with the
200th Coast Artillery (United States) from New Mexico to determine which would deploy to either the
Philippine Islands or the
Aleutian Islands. The Aleutians are an island chain off the southwest coast of
Alaska. The 200th CA was a former cavalry unit recently converted to coast artillery. The 206th CA actually provided cadre to assist with the training of the 200th CA, however many of the members of the 200th CA spoke fluent Spanish, which would be a great advantage in the Philippines. According to legend, the final determination was made by the flip of a nickel. The 200th CA won the coin toss and was selected to deploy to the Philippine Islands. The 200th CA was decimated in the fall of the Philippine Islands and its survivors participated in the
Bataan Death March. To this day, members of the 206th traditionally offer the toast "To the Nickel" at all formal gatherings in memory of this fateful decision. The highest casualties on the first day occurred when bombs struck barracks 864 and 866 in Fort Mears, killing seventeen men of the 37th Infantry and eight from the 151st Engineers. The 206th CA spent much of the night of 3 to 4 June moving their guns down off the mountain tops surrounding the harbor and into the city. Civilian contractors offered to help and were put to work filling sandbags to protect the new gun positions. When the Japanese returned on 4 June, the Zeros concentrated on strafing the gun positions while their bombers destroyed the fuel tanks located at the harbor. After the fuel tanks, the enemy concentrated on the ships in the harbor, the
Fillmore and the
Gillis. Driven away from these two targets by intense anti aircraft fire, they finally succeeded in destroying the
Northwestern which was mistaken for a warship because of its large size. The
Northwestern was actually a transport ship that was beached and its power plant was being used to produce steam and electricity for the shore installations. The damage caused to the Dutch Harbor Naval facilities and nearby Fort Mears, including the destruction of gas storage facilities and the destruction of the
Northwestern, was strategically insignificant. The significant outcomes of the battle were the discovery of a secret U.S. airbase in the Aleutian Islands, previously unknown to the Japanese, and the recovery of a Japanese Zero aircraft by U.S. forces following the battle. The regiment sustained seven killed in action during the bombing of Dutch Harbor. flown by Flight Petty Officer
Tadayoshi Koga, which was captured intact following the battle and became the second flyable Zero acquired by the United States during the war. Following its capture the aircraft was repaired, and then flown by American test pilots. As a result of information gained during these tests American tacticians were able to devise tactics to defeat the Zero, which was the Imperial Japanese Navy's primary fighter plane throughout the war. The Akutan Zero has been described as "a prize almost beyond value to the United States". Following the bombing, Admiral Kakuta utilized his invasion force to occupy the Islands of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Island chain. Attu was eventually retaken by U.S. forces on 29 May 1943 after a spectacular
Banzai charge by Japanese forces. Only 28 of the estimated 2500 Japanese defenders survived the battle. Kiska was retaken on 15 August 1943 by U.S. Forces, including the
2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, Arkansas National Guard. Most former members of the 206th were assigned to the
86th Infantry Division, stationed at
Camp Livingston,
Louisiana, or the
87th Infantry Division, stationed at
Fort Jackson,
South Carolina. These two divisions were among nearly two dozen other low-priority divisions that had given up large numbers of their own men as overseas replacements, and were replenished with men reassigned from inactivated antiaircraft and
tank destroyer units, former
Army Specialized Training Program students, former aviation cadets, and men who were given the opportunity to volunteer for the infantry from other branches of the Army. The 597th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (Automatic Weapons) departed for Europe via the
New York Port of Embarkation on 10 December 1944, arriving in
England on 16 December and moving to
France on 2 March 1945. After seeing action in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns, the battalion arrived back in the United States on 11 December 1945 and was inactivated on 12 December 1945 at
Camp Kilmer,
New Jersey.
Cold War After World War II the regiment underwent several consolidations and reorganizations described in the regiment's Lineage and Honors Certificate as follows: During this period the battalions were composed of two batteries each. ,
Oklahoma Stationing of 206th Artillery, 1963 The 206th Artillery was reorganized 1 May 1963, when the 1st Battalion was inactivated. The remaining units of the regiment were the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, elements of the 39th Infantry Division.
Reorganization as separate brigade 1 December 1967 the 39th Division was reorganized to become the
39th Infantry Brigade (Separate). The 2nd Battalion and 3rd Battalion, 206th Artillery were consolidated with the 5th Battalion, 142nd Field Artillery (organized and Federally recognized 22 June 1955 with headquarters at West Memphis) to form the 5th Battalion, 206th Artillery, with headquarters in West Memphis, Arkansas, an element of the 39th Infantry Brigade.
Restationing of 1996 The 5th Battalion, 206th Field Artillery was consolidated with the 217th Maintenance Battalion and the 1st Battalion, 233rd Air Defense Artillery on 30 September 1996 and the consolidated unit was designated as the 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery with headquarters in Russellville, Arkansas. The 1–206th FA had arrived at mobilization station approximately 80 soldiers short of its required strength, most vacancies being in the Fire Support Teams. The
National Guard Bureau supplied this shortage by activating A/1-103rd and attaching it to 1–206th for deployment. A/1-103rd FA quickly became known as the "Rhody" Battery. While the 1–206th was at Fort Hood, the battalion commander, battalion operations officer, and three battery commanders accompanied the brigade staff and other battalion commanders and staff on a Pre-Deployment Site Survey (PDSS) to Iraq. The commanders spent 10 days traveling to the
Baghdad Area of Operations, being hosted by the
16th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade,
1st Armored Division. In late January 2004 the 1–206th FA moved to the
Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at
Fort Polk, Louisiana for a Mission Rehearsal Exercise to validate the brigade training for the deployment. While at Fort Polk the 39th Brigade staff was informed by the 1st Cavalry Division that due to a scheduling gap and the need to assume responsibility of the
base defense operations center at
Camp Taji, Iraq, the brigade would have to deploy one battalion approximately three weeks ahead of the rest of the brigade. The 39th Brigade selected the 1–206th to assume this mission and the battalion was prioritized on the brigade's movement plan. The advance party of the 1–206th FA departed Fort Polk on 28 February 2004. Due to a mechanical breakdown en route the advanced party arrived in Kuwait on 8 March 2004. By this time the 1–206th had been officially designated as the division main effort, with orders to conduct pre-combat checks and rehearsals and move to Camp Taji, Iraq via ground convoy as quickly as possible.
Operation Dutch Harbor The 1–206th FA conducted the 300 mile road march from
Camp New York, Kuwait to Camp Taji, Iraq 15–17 March 2004, moving over 150 vehicles and over 450 soldiers with no serious incidents or injuries. The battalion was the first element of the 39th Brigade and the 1st Cavalry Division main body, to enter Iraq. The battalion named its base operations order for the defense of Camp Taji and field artillery support to the 39th IBCT, Operation Dutch Harbor in deference to the regiment's World War II heritage. Upon arriving at Camp Taji, the battalion learned that the force which they were to relieve was substantially larger than originally believed. The 1st Armor Division had actually directed the 3rd Brigade,
1st Armored Division to relieve the Division Artillery (DIVARTY) of the 4th Infantry Division of responsibility for the security of Camp Taji on approximately 1 February 2004. 3rd Brigade, 1st Armor Division deployed the
4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery,
70th Engineer Battalion and elements of the
1 Battalion, 64th Armor to Camp Taji. In addition to conducting base defense operations, 3rd BCT had actually assumed responsibility for patrolling a large area surrounding Camp Taji as well as escorting
explosive ordnance disposal teams on route clearance missions. The 1–206th FA relieved the 3rd BCT, 1st Armor Division on 24 March 2004 The team spent several hours searching the area for the second mortar team member. This search eventually turned into a joint operation, another first for the 39th BCT, with members of the 2nd Iraqi Army Battalion joining in a larger cordon and search operation of the surrounding houses. The captured 60mm mortar tube was utilized as a flag stand for the 1–206th Battalion colors for the remainder of the deployment. QRF teams conducted route clearance operations and escorted EOD teams to numerous IED sites until relieved of escort duty by elements of the 239th Engineer Company. During this time the 1–206th FA made substantial improvements to the security of Camp Taji. Over six kilometers of triple standard concertina wire were installed along the camps perimeter, secure radio communications were established between the BDOC and all forty one guard towers along the perimeter, and living quarters were hardened with sandbags and concrete barriers. When it was discovered that insurgents had actually penetrated the perimeter to raid captured ammunition storage facilities on the camp, the battalion stationed its sniper team, known by call sign "Poacher", along the infiltration routes. The sniper teams destroyed one insurgent team attempting to enter the perimeter, and captured another. The most significant attack on the perimeter of Camp Taji during the OIF II came on 5 June 2004 when two Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED) exploded just outside Castle Gate. The VBIED struck during the morning rush hour, just after 0800. The two vehicles detonated within a few seconds of each other, one directed against workers attempting to enter Camp Taji through Castle Gate to work at various construction sites, and one directed at a group of Iraqi men who were waiting in line to apply for work at an Iraqi security firm across the street from Camp Taji. Eighteen Iraqis were killed in the attack and approximately forty were wounded. Amazingly no U.S. soldiers were killed in this attack. Quick reaction teams from the 1-206ht FA spent hours clearing the site, restoring the perimeter and directing traffic around the area. Operation Aleutian Fury began at 1600 on 9 August 2004 and ended at 0900 on 17 September 2004 when the 1–206th FA was relieved by the 2–7 CAV returning from the Najaf Operation. The battalion was successful in reducing Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks against coalition convoys on MSR Tamp during this period of time. The key to this success was an aggressive campaign to search suspected cache sites along the major supply route utilizing the ability the motorized infantry from B/2-162 IN, the Macedonian Special Forces Platoon and the 307th Iraqi Army Battalion to enter areas previously inaccessible by the M3 Bradleys and M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks of 2–7 CAV. During this time 1st Battalion, now known as Task Force Aleutian, suffered three casualties, all from attached units. SPC Brandon R Sapp, 1st Platoon, A Troop, 2–7 CAV was killed on 15 August 2004 when an IED exploded under the Bradley Fighting Vehicle that he was driving. SGT Benjamin W. Isenberg and SSG David J. Weisenburg, Company B, 2–162nd IN, died on 13 September 2004 when and IED exploded under their HMMWV north of Camp Taji.
Operation Aleutian Providence After being relieved by 2–7 CAV, the 1–206th FA retained control of an area of operations south of Camp Taji. On 3 October 2004 the battalion suffered two additional casualties when SSG Christopher Potts (Battery A, 1–103rd FA) and SGT Russell "Doc" Collier were killed in a fire fight with insurgents near the village of Musurraf, south of Camp Taji along the Tigris River. SGT Collier was posthumously awarded the
Silver Star for his actions when he moved forward under heavy enemy fire in order to render aid to SSG Potts who had been shot while attempting to silence an enemy automatic weapon. SSG Potts was posthumously awarded the
Bronze Star Medal with V Device for his actions that day. On 5 October 2004 the 1st Battalion launched Operation Aleutian Providence, the battalion's largest operation of the deployment to retake Musurraf village and capture individuals responsible for the ambush of SSG Potts and SGT Collier. The battalion was reinforced for this operation by one platoon of B/2-162 INF and the Macedonian Special Forces Platoon located at Camp Taji. The operation was conducted as a joint operation with the 307th Iraqi Army Battalion. The operation resulted in the discovery of a massive weapons cache and improvised explosive device manufacturing facility which was described as the largest uncovered in
Multi-National Division Baghdad at that time.
Operation Aleutian Fury II On approximately 1 November 2004 the 1–206th FA was ordered by 39th BCT to resume responsibility for AO Ghost, the area of operations assigned to 2–7 CAV due to that unit's impending tasking to take part in Operation Al-Fajr,
Second Battle of Fallujah, Iraq. In order to conduct this Economy of Force Mission, 1st Battalion received the attachment of the following units from 2–7 CAV: :B Company (-) 2-162 IN (
Oregon National Guard); :1st Platoon, 239th Engineer Company; :D Company 307th Iraqi Army Battalion with assigned Military Assistance Training Team from 2–7 CAV; :a Civil Affairs Team; and :the Macedonian Special Forces Platoon located at Camp Taji. This was essentially the same task organization from Operation Aleutian Fury, with the major exception of the M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles of 1st Platoon, A/2-7 CAV which were assigned elsewhere in the 39th BCT's area of operations in the northeastern part of Baghdad. The 1–206th experienced its most significant fighting of the deployment during this period. Insurgent forces escaping from the siege of Fallujah infiltrated into the city of Tarimayah, Iraq in the northeastern corner of AO Ghost. These displaced insurgents focused their efforts on interdicting Coalition supply convoys moving along MSR Tamp from
Balad Air Base and
Logistics Support Area Anaconda south to Baghdad and west to support the fighting around Fallujah. As the fighting ebbed and flowed during this period, the 1–206th was additionally reinforced with: :two platoons from E Troop, 151 CAV; :one platoon from B Company, 3-153 IN; and, :Battery F, 1st Battalion, 202 Air Defense Artillery. Route clearance operations from 1–206th encountered multiple complex ambushes along MSR Tampa during this period, especially in the area around Mushada, Iraq, in the northern part of AO Ghost. On 14 November 2004, a patrol of 307th Iraqi National Guard Soldiers with an adviser team from 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery led by CPT John Vanlandingham, and an escort platoon from B Company, 3-153 IN was ambushed north of Mushada. CPT Vanlandingham received the Silver Star medal for his actions to save several wounded Iraqi Army Soldiers who had become separated from the patrol during the ambush. During this period, the sniper teams from 1–206th, call sign "Poachers", conducted a series of very successful engagements in coordination with the Macedonian Special Forces Platoon along MSR Tamp. On one occasion the team destroyed an eight-man insurgent team which was attempting to ambush the battalion quick reaction force from Battery C, 1–206th FA, just north of Camp Taji near a former missile factory known as the Nasser Factory. The Paladin could range targets out to thirty kilometers from Camp Taji, while the M102 howitzers could only range targets to eleven kilometers. Two key events in the life of the new Iraqi Republic occurred during the deployment of the 1–206th FA, the return to
Iraqi sovereignty in accordance with
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546 on 28 June 2004, and the first Iraqi National Elections on 30 January 2005. The 39th BCT was instrumental in the January 2005 elections. The battalion was responsible for working with the 307th ING Battalion to establish and secure six different polling sites within the battalion's area of operations. In order to avoid jeopardizing the credibility of the election process, it was necessary to avoid a United States Military presence at the polling sites. This meant that the security at the polling sites would be the responsibility of 307th ING Battalion alone. Battalion leaders spent countless hours planning and coordination with Iraqi counterparts and governmental elections officials. The task at one polling site was even more complicated. Over 3000 Iraqi army soldiers living on the Iraqi side of Camp Taji wished to vote, but in order to prevent a perception of military control of the ballot box, it was determined that these soldiers would have to vote outside the camp at the village of Assyria, and they would be unarmed. This obviously presented a very lucrative target for insurgents. The test of all the preparations came at 1000 hrs on election day. Iraqi citizens were standing in one line and Iraqi army soldiers in another when two 107mm rockets burst in the air over the polling site. The 155mm Paladins reinforcing the 1–206th instantly replied with counter battery fire against the insurgent rocket launch sites, while leaders rushed to the polling site fearing the worse. What they found were Iraqi citizens and soldiers doggedly standing in line, refusing to be driven away. At the close of voting not one site in the 1–206th area of operations was disrupted or forced to close. One battery of the 1–206th was detached to support the voting in Baghdad during this time. On approximately 23 January 2005, 1–206th FA received orders to detach Battery A, to
2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry, in order to secure key bridges and routes to ensure that citizens could reach the polling sites, but the primary threat, vehicle born improvise explosive devices (
VBIED) could not. Battery A reverted to battalion control on 31 January 2009. The battalion was designated as a security forces battalion with 697 soldiers task organized as follows:
Task organization Headquarters and Headquarters Battery was designated as a 42-man Rear Area Operations Center and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division to provide the Garrison Command Staff for Camp Taji, Iraq vehicles Battery A, 1–206th FA was organized as a convoy security company, with 131 soldiers and was subsequently assigned to convoy security duty at Camp Liberty, Iraq, in support of the
168th Brigade Support Battalion, and element of the 1st Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. The battery received the attachment of two Regular Army platoons, bringing the strength the unit to 175 soldiers during the deployment. Battery A safely executed over 700 combat logistic patrols totaling more than 575,000 miles throughout the MND-B Area of Operations. Seven soldiers from Battery A were awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Battery A soldiers also received three impact
Army Commendation Medals, two Combat Action Badges, and several Army Achievement Medals and Drivers badges. model T-shirts made for them by a member of the Family Readiness Group, June 2008, Camp Taji, Iraq, in front of their
MRAP vehicles Company G, 39th BSB, the battalion's forward support company, was organized as a convoy security company, with 131 soldiers and was subsequently assigned to Convoy Security Duty at Camp Taji Iraq, in support of the 165th Corps Sustainment Support Battalion, from the Louisiana National Guard, an element of the 1st Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. The company was recognized for inventing the first rolling RETRANS system, a radio relay system, which allowed combat logistics patrols to communicate at nearly triple the normal distance. The 1–206th FA also received the attachment of the 1123rd Transportation Company, of the 871st Troop Command for the deployment. The 1123rd was organized as a force protection company with 131 soldiers and was subsequently assigned to the 1–152 Cavalry Squadron, an element of the 1st Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, in order to asst with base defense operations at Camp Taji, Iraq. Finally the 1–206th FA also received the attachment of the 1038th Horizontal Construction Company, of the 875th Engineer Battalion. The 1038th was organized as a force protection company with 131 soldiers and was subsequently assigned to the 1–152 Cavalry Squadron, an element of the
1st Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, in order to asst with base defense operations at Camp Taji, Iraq. These barriers weighed several tons each, so an entire convoy might move only thirty to forty barriers. The convoy escort team would escort the civilian trucks hauling the barriers from Camp Taji or
Camp Liberty to Sadr City, and then provide security on the site for up to six hours while cranes lifted and emplaced each barrier. These missions often came under small arms fire and the threat of improvised explosive devices was constant. The units of the 1–206th, while attached to the 1st Sustainment Brigade, emplaced hundreds of barriers as part of the effort to pacify this volatile area of Baghdad. The 1–206th FA suffered no killed in action during this second deployment, although Battery B had one killed in action from an attached Regular Army unit. SGT Jose Ulloa, of 515th Transportation Company was killed on 8 August 2008 when the LMTV that he was riding in was struck by an improvised explosive device during a convoy security mission in Sadr City, Baghdad. SGT Ulloa's platoon was attached to Battery B as a convoy security platoon at the time of his death.
Homecoming The battalion demobilized at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, 23 December 2008. ==Significant non-combat deployments==