15th Brigade Support Battalion (United States)

15th Brigade Support Battalion
Distinctive Unit Insignia for the 15th BSB
Active	23 March 1925– Present
Country	United States
Branch	Logistics
Type	Command
Size	battalion
Garrison/HQ	Fort Cavazos, Texas
Commanders
Notable commanders	LTG Quinn H. Becker

The 15th Medical Battalion is a former battalion of the United States Army.

Organization

The 15th Medical Battalion was a non-combat battalion of the United States Army Medical Department, originally formed on 23 March 1925 as the 1st Medical Squadron and redesignated as the 15th Medical Battalion on 25 March 1949.

In 1965 the 15th Medical Battalion and the 1st Cavalry Division colors in Korea were exchanged with the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) and the 2d Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Georgia. The personnel and equipment of the 2d and 11th divisions were merged to become the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) and the colors of the 2d Infantry Division colors were sent to Korea. Within months the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) was on its way to South Vietnam.

On 1 October 1984 the 15th Medical Battalion was redesignated the 2nd Forward Support Battalion. There were three companies A,B,C, in the 15th Medical Battalion. Major Zmnbrasky was the Battalion Commander. Two of the three Medical companies were reassigned and a Quartermaster company from the 15th Supply & Transportation Battalion became the new Company A, while Company B came from the 27th Maintenance Battalion. On 15 May 1987, the 15th Medical Battalion became the 15th Support Battalion (Forward). The Battalion has been assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division since it was formed on 29 December 1950.

Service

The unit saw service during the Second World War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War (Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm), the Bosnian War (as part of rotation SFOR 5), the war in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom), Hurricane Katrina, and the war in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom). It is currently designated the 15th Brigade Support Battalion, providing logistics support to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

References

• 1st Cavalry Division Home Page Archived 24 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine – Official site.
• 1st Cavalry Division Association
• [1] 15th Medical Battalion Association - Official site.

Further reading

• The Admiralties: Operations of the 1st Cavalry Division 29 February – 18 May 1944 (reprint ed.). Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. 1990 [1946]. Archived from the original on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2010. – full text
• American Cavalry Divisions 1941–1945 order of battle information posted at the Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
• "The Brigade: A History, Its Organization and Employment in the US Army" by John J. McGrath, Combat Studies Institute Press, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 2004
• U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919–1941, Volume 2. The Arms: Cavalry, Field Artillery, and Coast Artillery, 1919–41 by Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Steven E. Clay, Combat Studies Institute Press, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 2011
• U.S. Army Combat Units 1 September 1939 order of battle information posted at the Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas