44th Chemical Battalion
Coat of Arms of the 44th Chemical Battalion
Active
  • 1989–1997
  • 2003–present
Country United States
BranchUnited States Army National Guard (Illinois Army National Guard)
RoleChemical defense
Part of404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
Garrison/HQBloomington, Illinois
Motto(s)Pride Integrity Courage
Insignia
Distinctive Unit Insignia

The 44th Chemical Battalion is a chemical defense battalion of the Illinois Army National Guard, organized in 2008. It is headquartered at Bloomington, Illinois, part of the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, formerly a chemical brigade.

A previous unit with the same designation was organized in 1989, headquartered at Sycamore and then Machesney Park as part of the 404th Chemical Brigade before its 1997 inactivation.

History

A unit with the same designation was headquartered at Sycamore as part of the 404th Chemical Brigade, organized on 1 July 1989 and activated in September of that year.[1] It included the 244th Chemical Company (Smoke) at Rockford and the 444th Chemical Company (Decontamination) at Freeport, and the latter's Detachment 1 at Galva. After returning from summer training at Fort McCoy in August 1993, the 62-man headquarters of the battalion was mobilized for flood relief duty along the Mississippi River at Quincy in response to the Great Flood of 1993.[2] It was relocated to Machesney Park on 1 October 1995; the Sycamore armory was taken over by the newly activated Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery.[3] The battalion was officially inactivated by orders effective 1 September 1997 along with the brigade.[4]

The current battalion was constituted 1 September 2005 in the Illinois Army National Guard as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 44th Chemical Battalion, and three years later organized and Federally recognized on 5 August 2008.[5] The battalion initially included the 135th Chemical Company at Machesney Park, the 444th Chemical Company (Combat Support) at Monmouth, and the 445th Chemical Company at East St. Louis. Before being constituted it was on Carrier status.[6] After 2007 the 444th Chemical Company was relocated to the new Galesburg Readiness Center.[7] In 2010, the 445th Chemical Company was relocated to Shiloh.[8] The battalion also includes 450th Chemical Detachment at Macomb.[9]

The 150-strong 135th Chemical Company was mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan in September 2008,[10] serving on convoy security duty[11] at Camp Phoenix with the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team Task Force Phoenix. Eight of its personnel received Bronze Stars for actions during the deployment before it returned to the United States in September 2009.[12] The 445th Chemical Company also deployed to Afghanistan at the same time.[13] With about 120 personnel, the 444th Chemical Company was mobilized for a deployment to Kuwait in February 2012, providing security at Camp Virginia[14] before returning to the United States in December.[15]

A soldier from the battalion demonstrates equipment to Polish soldiers during Anakonda 2016

In June 2016, the battalion deployed to Poland to practice troop/equipment decontamination and mass casualty evacuation operations during NATO Exercise Anakonda 2016, which ran from June 7 to June 17 at Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area. When it participated in the exercise, the unit included a large amount of Polish-American soldiers, many of whom spoke Polish and were familiar with the culture; it had participated in similar exercises since 2006.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Crase, Mike (22 August 1990). "Deployment of local battalion is uncertain". The Daily Chronicle – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ Siwicki, Gene (10 August 1993). "Guard unit is mobilized to help in flooded areas". The Daily Chronicle – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Mann, Dave (16 July 1996). "The Kings of Battle". The Daily Chronicle – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "History and Lineage". Illinois Army National Guard. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "44th Chemical Battalion Lineage and Honors Information". U.S. Army Center of Military History. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Battalions and Units of the 404th Chemical Brigade". Illinois Army National Guard. Archived from the original on 2010-01-26. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  7. ↑ Hobe, Marty (8 July 2016). "Hard to sustain interest in old Galesburg armory". The Register-Mail. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "Southern Illinois Units – Shiloh". Illinois National Guard. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "West Central Illinois Units – Macomb". Illinois National Guard. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  10. ↑ Janega, James (30 September 2008). "War in Afghanistan calls". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  11. ↑ Cummings, Ryan (9 June 2008). "Local Guard Unit Ready to Deploy". WREX. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  12. ↑ Haas, Kevin (10 September 2009). "A happy welcome home for soldiers". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  13. ↑ West, Ken (16 September 2009). "For soldiers, welcome home at last". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  14. ↑ Nelson, Shellie (14 May 2012). "Local soldiers celebrate Mother's Day half a world away". WQAD. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  15. ↑ Dutton, Matthew (23 December 2012). "444th Chemical Company returns from Kuwait". The Register-Mail. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  16. ↑ Headquarters, Sgt. Dennis Glass 361st Press Camp. "Macomb-based 44th National Guard Chemical Battalion in Poland on exercises". The McDonough County Voice. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 2018-05-05.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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