3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, was originally constituted on 15 July 1940 in the Regular Army as Company C, 69th Armored Regiment, an element of the 1st Armored Division. It activated on 31 July 1940 at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and inactivated there on 10 January 1942. It reactivated on 15 February 1942 at Fort Knox, Kentucky, (the 69th Armored Regiment was concurrently relieved from assignment to the 1st Armored Division and assigned to the 6th Armored Division), but it was inactivated on 8 March 1946 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. The former Company C, 69th Tank Battalion, was reconstituted on 21 August 1950 in the Regular Army as Company C, 69th Medium Tank Battalion, an element of the 6th Armored Division. It activated on 5 September 1950 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and inactivated there on 16 March 1956.
It was re-designated on 14 January 1957 as Company C, 69th Tank Battalion (the 69th Medium Tank Battalion was relieved on 1 February 1957 from assignment to the 6th Armored Division), and on 15 February 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Medium Tank Battalion, 69th Armor, it was concurrently reassigned to the 25th Infantry Division and activated to Hawaii. It inactivated on 1 July 1963 in Hawaii and relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division.
Re-designated on 15 August 1983 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor, the unit was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division, and activated in Germany. It inactivated on 16 April 1986 in Germany and was relieved from its assignment in the 3rd Infantry Division. The unit was reassigned on 16 October 1987 to the 24th Infantry Division and activated at Fort Stewart, Georgia. With the inactivation of the 24th Infantry Division and the activation of the 3rd Infantry division at Fort Stewart, the unit was reassigned once more, becoming part of the 3rd Infantry Division, based still at Fort Stewart.
Throughout the 1990s and into the turn of the century, the battalion has deployed in support of numerous war-time missions including Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm (Iraq), Intrinsic Action (Kuwait), Kosovo, and Operation Iraqi Freedom I where it served as the "Point of the Spear" for the 3rd Infantry Division, participating in many 1BCT battles, to include the seizure of Baghdad International Airport. The Speed and Power Battalion deployed again in January 2005, serving as the 1st Brigade Combat Team's and 42nd Infantry Division's main effort during Operation Iraqi Freedom III in Samarra, Iraq. After a successful tour, Task Force 3-69 AR redeployed to Fort Stewart in January 2006.
In January 2007, 3rd Battalion 69th Armor Regiment deployed with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division to Operation Iraqi Freedom V. The battalion initially was tasked with securing the volatile city of Ramadi, originally dubbed as the "most dangerous city in the world." While forming historical and imperative ties with local Sunni Sheiks through the al Anbar Awakening, 3-69 was able to transform Ramadi into the model for success in defeating al Qaida in Iraq. The battalion continued its profound success in the second half of the deployment in North Ramadi, as well as well as ridding terrorist safe havens in Lake Thar Thar, Habbaniyah, and the southern region in Salah ad Din Province. This fifteen month deployment was part of the General Petraeus "surge" of force. After a successful tour Task Force 3-69 Armor redeployed to Fort Stewart Georgia in March 2008, to train in preparation of future operations.
Most recently, Soldiers from Task Force 3-69 deployed in December 2009 in support of OIF VII to northeast Baghdad as the main effort of the 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team-Augmented. The battalion assumed responsibility for an area of operations once belonging to two battalions and a brigade headquarters. The mission of enabling security and protecting the people of Iraq was accomplished through advising and assisting the Iraqi Security Forces as well as transitioning the overall responsibility for the security of Iraq from US forces to the Iraqi government. Following a successful transition into Operation New Dawn, Task Force 3-69 redeployed in December 2010 and is currently preparing for follow on missions.
|
