In 1974 the
30th Infantry Division ceased to exist and its units were divided amongst the
North Carolina,
South Carolina, and
Georgia Army National Guards. The 30th Infantry Brigade (Mechanized) from
North Carolina was chosen to carry on the lineage of the 30th Infantry Division. The brigade took part in
Exercise Display Determination in 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1992. The brigade was affiliated with the
24th Infantry Division on 5 June 1999 during the division's reactivation ceremony as part of the active/reserve component integrated division concept. The headquarters for the division was an active unit located at
Fort Riley,
Kansas while its subordinate units were all National Guard units. From 2000 to 2001 a few select units from 30th Brigade were chosen to conduct a six-month peacekeeping mission in war torn
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The deployment marked the first time that National Guard troops were utilized as front line patrolling forces since the beginning of deployment of combat troops to the region. In July 2002 the brigade conducted "Operation Hickory Sting '02" at Ft. Riley, Kansas in preparation for the unit's upcoming
National Training Center rotation the next year. During this time, an Illinois-based unit, Battery G, 202nd ADA, joined the Brigade. The unit's 2003 NTC rotation was dubbed "Operation Tarheel Thunder." After successfully completing its NTC rotation, 30th Brigade, along with the
39th Infantry Brigade from
Arkansas, were informed that they would be deployed as part of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. In February 2004 the brigade began a year-long deployment to the
Diyala Governorate in Iraq. With the deployment, 30th Infantry Brigade became the first National Guard brigade combat team to deploy to a war since the
Korean War 50 years earlier. The brigade was also the first National Guard brigade to have its own area of operation in Iraq. In 2004, one member of the Brigade, SPC Frederico Mérida was convicted of murdering an Iraqi National Guardsmen (ING) at FOB Mackenzie in Salh-Ad-Din Province near the village of Ad-Dawr and sentenced to 25 years in prison at his subsequent court martial. He apparently killed the ING member as a result of a sexual encounter gone wrong.
The Battle of Baqubah The first Battle of Baqubah (not to be confused with
Operation Arrowhead Ripper in 2007) was some of the fiercest fighting that the brigade encountered during its deployment. The battle began at approximately 5:30 am 24 June 2004 local time as insurgents from the group
Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad (aka
Al-Qaeda in Iraq) attempted to ambush 3rd
Platoon, Company A, 1st
Battalion,
120th Infantry (Mechanized) with small arms, heavy machine guns,
IEDs and
RPG fire. The platoon was able to break through the ambush and attempted to turn the battle around with a counterattack. As the battle wore on, however, battle damage to all three of the platoon's
M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles forced the counterattack to halt and once again the advantage lay with the insurgents. At around 6:00 am reinforcements from Company A, including company commander Captain Christopher Cash, left the unit's
forward operating base and were also ambushed almost immediately. In the process Captain Cash was killed. The Bradley in which Captain Cash was killed as well as one other returned to base, leaving only three Bradleys from 1st Platoon to reinforce 3rd Platoon. As the reinforcements advanced on 3rd Platoon, an RPG struck one of the Bradleys, hitting SPC Daniel Desens and wounding several others. The platoon sergeant, SFC Chad Stephens, moved under fire without body armor or a weapon from his Bradley to SPC Desens' to retrieve the wounded Specialist. As SPC Desens was treated by the platoon medic, SPC Ralph Isabella, the platoon regrouped and continued its march towards 3rd Platoon. As they advanced once again towards 3rd Platoon, SFC Stephens's Bradley was also hit by an RPG, severely wounding his gunner and wounding several others including SFC Stephens. • Captain Christopher S. Cash: 36, from
Winterville, North Carolina, Commander of A Company 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry. CPT Cash was killed on 24 June 2004 in the Battle of Baqubah. • Specialist Daniel Alan Desens Jr.: 20, from Jacksonville, North Carolina, also of A Company, 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry. SPC Desens was also killed in the Battle of Baqubah on 24 June 2004. • Sergeant DeForest L. Talbert: 24, of
Charleston, West Virginia, assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 150th Armor. SGT Talbert died 27 July 2004 in
Baladruz, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. • Staff Sergeant Michael S. Voss: 35, from
Aberdeen, North Carolina, assigned to HHC, 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry. SSG Voss was killed on 8 October 2004 in
Tikrit, Iraq when his convoy was attacked with an improvised explosive device and small arms fire.
Post-deployment and redeployment In early 2005, as the brigade returned from Iraq, 30th Infantry Brigade transformed into the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team as part of the Army's new
Brigade Unit of Action concept. With the transformation, the brigade disbanded the
119th Infantry Regiment whose lineage in the North Carolina National Guard can be traced back to before the
American Civil War. In preparation for the upcoming deployment, the brigade attended a 23-day
annual training period at
Camp Shelby,
Mississippi in May 2008. The primary purpose of the training exercise was to complete
Bradley Fighting Vehicle new equipment training for the scouts on fighting vehicle crews. The crews conducted gunnery through Bradley table VIII, while wheeled scouts performed gunnery with M2 .50 caliber machine guns. Other training included warrior task battle drill and individual weapons qualifications.
Operation Iraqi Freedom VII In early 2009, 30th HBCT began mobilizing in Camp Shelby, Mississippi to conduct pre-deployment validation training. With training complete, the brigade returned to North Carolina for one last time before the deployment to hold a deployment ceremony on 14 April and to allow soldiers to say goodbye to their families. By the end of April 2009, the brigade arrived in Iraq and began the process of taking over for 2nd HBCT,
1st Armored Division in a process known as "relief in place." Shortly thereafter, the brigade began conducting patrols south of the
Baghdad area as part of Multinational Division – Baghdad. On 21 May, less than a month after arriving in Iraq, the brigade began to take its first casualties. While making their way to a meeting with local officials in the
Doura Market, three soldiers from 1st Battalion,
252nd Armor Regiment's civil-military liaison team were killed by a
suicide vest improvised explosive device (SVIED) in the
Al Rashid district in the southwestern part of Baghdad along with multiple civilians. Major Jason George, 38, from
Tehachapi, California was an Army Reservist and served as the battalion's civil-military officer. 1st Lieutenant Leevi Barnard, 28, from
Mount Airy, North Carolina was a North Carolina Guardsman and served as Major George's assistant. Sergeant Paul Brooks, 34, from
Joplin, Missouri was a Missouri Guardsman who had volunteered for the deployment and served as the team's medic. Alpha Co. also of the 1st Battalion, 252nd Armor was in the market area at the same time that morning when the attack occurred. Their swift response to the incident resulted in the timely treatment and ground evacuation of the remaining coalition casualties to the
10th CSH IBN Sina Hospital and their efforts undoubtedly saved many lives that day. On the same day, soldiers from A Battery, 1st Battalion,
113th Field Artillery Regiment successfully fired the
M982 Excalibur precision guided artillery round from
FOB Mahmudiyah. This marked the first time that a National Guard unit had used the new precision guided munition in Iraq. A little over a month later the brigade suffered four more casualties, this time from A Company, 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry. They were killed when their
HMMWV was struck by an IED on 29 June in the
Mahmudiyah area, south of Baghdad. Sergeant 1st Class Edward Kramer, 39 and a father of two, was from
Wilmington, North Carolina and was on his second deployment to Iraq with the battalion. Sergeant Roger Adams Jr., 36, from
Jacksonville, North Carolina had recently joined the National Guard and had previously served in the
Marine Corps. Adams was also a father of four. Sergeant Juan Baldeosingh, 30, from
Havelock, North Carolina was a father of three and had been in the National Guard for a little over a year. He had previously served in the Marine Corps. Sergeant Robert Bittaker, 39, from
Jacksonville, North Carolina was a father of two and had served two prior deployments with the battalion, one of which was with the brigade's deployment to Bosnia in 2000. This attack resulted in the single largest loss of life for the brigade since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. SGT Baldeosingh would later be buried at
Arlington National Cemetery. He would be the second North Carolina Guardsman to be buried at the cemetery since WWII. SGT Juan C. Baldeosingh is listed in the Arlington National Cemetery database as being laid to rest in Section 60, Grave 8847.
Operation Spartan Shield In 2019, the 30th ABCT mobilized from
Fort Bliss, Texas and deployed to
Camp Buehring,
Kuwait, replacing the
4th Infantry Division (United States) in command of
Operation Spartan Shield. From here, many units of the brigade went on to support Operation Spartan Shield and
Operation Inherent Resolve in countries around the
CENTCOM area of responsibility. ==Insignia==