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Force Structure
and Unit History Branch
Using History for a Better
Force Structure
U.S. Army units, like today's soldiers, have
their own individual service record. Units display their history
and battle honors on their flags, or "colors." These
honors are a source of unit pride, and whenever soldiers gather
to compare the unit decorations on their uniforms there is
an inherent "competition" for honors. General George
S. Patton once stated that decorations make "the men
who get them proud and determined to get more" and those
"who have not received them jealous and determined to
get some in order to even up." He went on to praise decorations
as "the greatest thing we have for building a fighting
heart."
The Army did not originally have a system for
tracing unit history and honors. Units simply embroidered
on their colors the names of the battles in which they fought,
but units often disagreed about what differentiated a "skirmish"
from a "battle" or a "campaign." By the
1920s, however, the Army found that it needed to standardize
its battle honors and created an
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office to do impartial research on unit histories (often tracing
them through a variety of redesignations) and to determine campaign
participation credit. The determination of unit lineage and honors,
one of the Army's oldest official historical functions, is just
one of the current missions of the U.S. Army Center of Military
History's Force Structure and Unit History Branch (formerly called
the Organizational History Branch). The branch administers two major
programs: one for Organizational History and another for Force Structure
Support. Because it selects which units to activate and determines
or verifies the unit honors displayed on flags and guidons (and
thus what individual soldiers wear on their uniforms), the Force
Structure and Unit History Branch affects almost every unit and
soldier in the Army.
Organizational
History
Branch historians determine the lineage and honors
of Army units from all components that are organized under Tables
of Organization and Equipment (TOEs). Following the general guidelines
laid down in Army Regulation (AR) 870-5, Military History: Responsibilities,
Policies, and Procedures, they conduct research in primary and
secondary historical sources. This research is then converted into
a highly standardized and concise history called a Lineage and Honors
Certificate (when printed on parchment with an official War Department
seal and signed for the Secretary of the Army by the Chief of Military
History) or a Statement of Service (the same historical information
printed on plain paper). The Army Support Office of the Soldier
Systems Directorate, U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command,
requires that units submit one of these documents to requisition
their flags or guidons, campaign streamers or silver bands, and
decoration streamers. These documents also certify a unit's entitlement
to a special designation (like the 10th Cavalry's "Buffalo
Soldiers") and to unit historical files and property. This
information also is used by The Institute of Heraldry to design
unit heraldic devices, including coats of arms and shoulder sleeve
and distinctive insignia.
Branch personnel respond to thousands of official inquiries for
organizational history information each year. In addition to answering
requests from units, the branch routinely provides information to
members of Congress, the U.S. Total Army Personnel Command's Military
Awards Branch, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records,
the U.S. Armed Services Center for Research of Unit Records, the
American Battle Monuments Commission, the Army Staff, field operating
agencies, major Army commands, and others. Although official inquiries
take precedence, the branch answers requests from veterans and their
family members, academics, authors, and other parties as time and
resources permit. Besides AR 870-5, the branch's organizational
history activities are covered in AR 600-8-22, Military Awards,
and AR 840-10, Heraldic Activities: Flags, Guidons, Streamers,
Tabards, and Automobile and Aircraft Plates.
Force
Structure Support
During the 1980s, the Office of The Adjutant General transferred
several important missions to the branch, including responsibility
for maintaining the official rolls of the Army. As part of this
function, branch historians record activations, inactivations, redesignations,
and other significant changes in unit status. By order of the Secretary
of the Army, the branch also issues unit change-in-status directives.
As the Army's official arbiter of unit designations and long names
(the term for the complete official designation entered into joint
databases), historians decide what official designations will be
used by all TOE units and various organizations established under
Tables of Distribution and Allowances. The branch is the only authority
for updating long name entries in Headquarters, Department of the
Army, databases such as ASORTS (Army Status of Resources and Training
System, part of the Joint Staff's automated command and control
system), and also selects which units to activate. For example,
when the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans (DCSOPS)
approves the addition of units to the Army's force structure, the
Force Structure and Unit History Branch coordinates with the U.S.
Army Force Management Support Agency to identify an appropriate
unit and its historic unit identification code (UIC). Historians
use information provided by the DCSOPS (such as TOE functional mission,
location, and other pending or planned force structure actions)
to select units with appropriate history for activation. Once the
unit and its UIC have been chosen and entered into the proper databases,
major Army commands can begin documenting unit activations and issuing
permanent orders. Staff members frequently work with the commands
to ensure that orders accurately reflect the force structure actions
coordinated through the branch. Throughout the Army's unit activation
process, branch members often find themselves involved with issues
beyond those of a strictly historical nature. For instance, reflecting
the importance of UICs to an "automated" Army, our historians
have resolved conflicts that surfaced when incorrect UICs or designations
were placed in logistical databases and verification was required
to allow new units to receive their authorized equipment.
The Force Structure and Unit History Branch also advises the Army
Staff and field commands during significant Army reorganizations,
downsizings, and reflaggings. The historians prepare order of merit
lists and provide other types of historical support for the purpose
of retaining the units with the most distinguished and suitable
history whenever possible. As the Army redesigns its force structure
and prepares new TOEs, the historians coordinate with force developers
and documenters to determine the official unit designations that
are published as part of the TOEs. Using its collection of historic
TOEs, the branch is often asked to provide information on the structure
and authorized strength of various units. Developers and planners
use this information for determining potential combat strength,
for wargaming, and for improving future organizational designs.
Although the Army's size has decreased in the last decade and there
are fewer active units in the force structure, the job of maintaining
the Army's rolls has not become easier. An increasing number of
unit reorganizations and redesignations have kept the branch's historians
busy to the point that force structure support dominates the official
caseload. Branch responsibilities and authorities in these areas
are set forth under AR 220-5, Designation, Classification, and
Change in Status of Units; AR 71-32, Force Development and
Documentation; and AR 600-82, The U.S. Army Regimental System.
Preparing
for the Future
Due to the large number and variety of Army organizations, the branch's
small staff divides its caseload based on the Army's functional
branches. This specialization allows the historians to become familiar
with and develop expertise in the particular organization and history
of their assigned branches. Branch historians continue to prepare
volumes in the popular Army Lineage Series and, as needed, other
studies (information papers, monographs, and pamphlets) on issues
relating to unit history and structure. The Army's force structure
planners, TOE developers, Training and Doctrine Command schools,
and others use this information to help understand how the Army
has structured itself in the past as they prepare for the future.
As an integral component of the Army's institutional memory, the
branch is ready to assist as the Army transforms itself to meet
the challenges of a new century. It was actively involved, for example,
in the development of the new Brigade Combat Teams. Through the
years the Army has found that using branch historians as action
officers for current and future force development issues serves
to connect the Army's past, present, and future and creates a better
force structure.
Submitting
Requests for Assistance
Its varied responsibilities mean that many people, from soldiers
updating their personnel files to veterans researching their wartime
experiences, contact the branch to verify their units' decorations
and service. The branch responds to approximately 4,000 inquiries
per year, with over a quarter of these from unofficial sources.
Due to limited staffing and resources, the branch can only accept
telephonic requests for information from units and official government
agencies. (Please note that Regular Army and Army Reserve units
requesting the preparation of Lineage and Honors Certificates must
still submit written requests-see address below. Army National Guard
units should send correspondence through the National Guard Bureau.)
Veterans, unofficial researchers, and other members of the general
public may also send written requests for information that will
be answered as resources permit. The working files of the Force
Structure and Unit History Branch may be made available to researchers,
who should make an appointment well in advance to ensure that the
appropriate historian is available to provide assistance. Branch
files contain only documents that support the creation of unit Lineage
and Honors Certificates, and very limited information is available
on the operational activities of particular units during the nation's
various military campaigns. (Please note that the branch maintains
neither unit operational records nor records of unit personnel.)
Additional information about the Center of Military History (CMH)
and about the location of unit records is available through CMH
ONLINE at www.army.mil/cmh-pg. The branch's address is
Commander
U.S. Army Center of Military History
ATTN: DAMH-FPO
103 Third Avenue
Fort McNair, DC 20319-5058
Phone: Commercial (202) 685-2733; DSN 325-2733
Force Structure
and Unit History Branch
An Overview
Major Responsibilities:
Determine the lineage and honors for Army TOE units of all
components
Maintain the rolls of the Army
Determine official designations and select units for activation
Determine entitlement to unit historical files and property
Prepare studies as needed on issues relating to unit history
Prepare volumes in the Army Lineage Series
Publications (available through official
distribution channels or from the Government Printing Office):
Army Lineage Series
Armor-Cavalry: Part I (1969)
Armor-Cavalry: Part II (1972)
Infantry: Part I (1972)
The Continental Army (1983)
Air Defense Artillery (1985)
Field Artillery (1985)
Aviation (1986)
Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades (1987;
Revised 1999)
Military Police (1992)
Military Intelligence (1998)
Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and
Separate Brigades (1998)
Signal Corps (under preparation)
Army Historical Series
Getting the Message Through: A Branch History of the
U.S. Army Signal Corps (1996)
Army Regulations (for which the branch is sole proponent)
AR 220-5, Designation, Classification, and Change in
Status of Units
A pamphlet entitled Organizational History is available upon request
to assist unit historians in the preparation of unit histories and
the establishment and maintenance of organizational history programs.
Other Products:
Lineage and Honors Certificates
Statements of Service
Unit Day Certificates
Special Designation Certificates
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Last updated 3 October 2003
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