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History
of the 9th Infantry Regiment (Light)
- If you have
corrections, questions or comments about this history please
e-mail me! -
Apr 83: The 9th Regiment was
reorganized under the Army Regimental System with the 1st
Battalion in the 2nd Infantry Division, headquartered at Camp
Casey, South Korea, and the 2nd and 4th Battalions in the 7th
Infantry Division, Fort Ord, California.
25 Jan 85: The 3rd Battalion, 9th
Infantry was activated at Fort Ord, becoming the first infantry
COHORT battalion in the U.S. Army. (Ed. I suspect that the 3rd
Bn was simply a re-designation of 4-9. Certainly by 89 4-9 was
not stationed at Fort Ord, but had been moved to Alaska as part
of the 6th Infantry Division).
01 Oct 85: 7th Infantry Division
was re-designated as the first Light Infantry Division and the
various battalions of the 17th, 31st and 32nd Regiments were
replaced by battalions from other regiments. (Ed. I need to find
out what the other battalions of the 7th IDs 2nd and 3rd
Brigades were at this point).
Oct 85: The history of the Manchu
Light Fighters starts here with at least 2-9 and 3-9 (Ed. ...
and perhaps, for a period, 4-9; see previous note about 4-9) at
Fort Ord when the 7th ID was re-designated "light".
16 Apr 87: The First Battalion, 9th
Infantry was inactivated and relieved from assignment to the 2nd
Infantry Division.
Apr 87 to Nov 87: Troops from the
7th Infantry Division were deployed to the Sinai Peninsula,
Egypt, as the US contingent of the Multinational Force and
Observers (MFO) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinational_Force_and_Observers).
(Ed. I cannot determine which units of the 7th participated in
this iteration of MFO, but at this point at least 2-9 and 3-9
were at Fort Ord, and may have participated).
17 May 87: 1-9 was reassigned to
the 7th Infantry Division and activated at Fort Ord, California.
It was at this time that the Regimental Colors were brought to
Fort Ord, and the division's 1st Brigade Headquarters became 9th
Regimental Headquarters.
16-30 Mar 88: The 7th participated
in Operation Golden Pheasant in Honduras in what the President
referred to as a "no-notice deployment exercise and show of
force", along with the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 504th
Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 82nd Airborne Division
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Golden_Pheasant).
(Ed. At least troops from 2-9 participated in this operation.
Although I had not yet arrived at Fort Ord, troops from my unit
did participate).
03 Apr to 05 Oct 89: 3-9 served as
the United States Battalion Task Force in the Multinational
Force and Observers (MFO) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinational_Force_and_Observers).
01 May 89 to 15 Oct 89: Shortly
after 3-9's deployment to the Sinai, the remainder of the
Regiment was called upon by the President of the United States
to deploy to Panama for Operation Nimrod Dancer. (Ed. I joined
the regiment in May 89, just a few days after this deployment. I
joined the regiment in Panama a few weeks later).
19 Dec 89 to 30 Jan 90: Operation
Just Cause, Panama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Just_Cause).
The 9th RCTs mission was to enter and clear Panama City of
Panamanian Defense Force (PDF) members and Dignity Battalion
members (armed civilians paid by President Manuel Noriega).
Although the Regiment killed or captured numerous Panamanian
villains, captured hundreds of weapons and a variety of
explosives, and seized tons of documents, some related to drug
activity, they sustained no combat losses or injuries. It was in
Panama that the 9th Infantry Regiment earned its 70th Campaign
streamer. Apr
(?) to 03 Aug 90: Less than four months after leaving Panama,
3rd Battalion returned on an operational mission supporting
Operation Promote Liberty. The mission's purpose was to support
the new Panamanian government should they request assistance and
to protect U.S. lives and property. The 3rd Battalion 9th
Infantry returned from Panama on 3 August 1990.
01-10 May 92: A few elements of the
division (its MP Companies augmented by some Infantry)
participated quelling the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. (Ed. I am
personally aware that units from 2-9 participated in this
action.) (Ed.
Mid- to Late 92: Plans were announced to move the 9th RCT to
Fort Lewis, WA. For the next several months soldiers were
allowed to transfer between the various battalions of the 7th
ID. Soldiers from WA were encouraged to transfer into the 9th
RCT. We knew that the 7th ID was going to be deactivated, but
didn't know exactly when. There was a rumor that the 9th RCT
would become a separate light infantry RCT, or perhaps even be
the basis for a re-activation of the 173rd PIR).
09 Aug 1993: The 9th RCT officially
unfurled its colors at Fort Lewis, WA, although troops had been
arriving since Feb of that year. (Ed. We immediately began
training to replace the brigade of the 10th Mountain Division in
Somalia. However, following the tragic outcome at the Battle of
Mogadishu in Oct 93, these plans were cancelled).
18 May 94: Official deactivation
ceremony for the remainder of the 7th Infantry Division occurred
at Fort Ord, CA, with an official deactivation date of 15 Jun
1994. Shortly thereafter Fort Ord itself was closed as an
official US Army garrison as part of the Base Realignment and
Closure (BRAC) Commission's recommendations which had been
handed down three years prior.
Dec 94 to May 95: C Co. 3/9 was
sent to Panama for operation joint task force - "Safe Haven"
Cuban migrant humanitarian relief to support the 92D military
police battalion.
Jan 95: 3-9, along with
augmentation from the 79th Forward Support Battalion and the
13th Engineer Company, deployed from Ft. Lewis, WA to Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba in support of OPERATION SEA SIGNAL where they provided
security and humanitarian assistance for more than 21,000 Cuban
and Haitian Migrants awaiting immigration into the United
States, having fled the tyranny of their countries. Task Force
3rd Manchu as they became known returned to Ft. Lewis, WA in
June 1995. (Ed. You can find more information about OPERATION
SEA SIGNAL at
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/sea_signal.htm,
although there is no mention of the participation of the Manchus).
24 Aug 95: The 9th Infantry
Regiment, 7th Infantry Division (Light), was re-flagged and
became the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Light). As a
result of that re-flagging action, Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, and the 3rd Battalion of the 9th Infantry Regiment
(Manchu) were inactivated. The 1st and 2nd Battalions, 9th
Infantry Regiment (Manchu), exchanged Colors and missions with
1st Battalion 5th Infantry, and 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry,
respectively. The Manchu name, colors and their store of
Regimental memorabilia, including such treasures as the Liscum
Bowl (http://www.manchu.org/linage/liscum.htm)
(Ed. And, as I personally recall, and one of the three
much-contested Balangiga Bell (http://www.cbcponline.net/borongan/html/balangiga_bells.html)
returned once again to Camp Casey, South Korea and the 2nd
Infantry Division.
Aug 95: After just months short of
10 years the Manchu's were no longer Light Fighters. As part of
their re-assignment to the 2nd ID, they became mechanized
Infantry. However, to this day the Manchus are still expected to
complete a 25-mile ruck march with full kit and weapon (changed
from the requirement of the mid-80s of four 25-mile marches in
four days!) called the "Manchu Mile" every quarter. Soldiers who
complete the march are authorized to wear the "Manchu buckle" on
their uniforms. Although only Manchus are required to
participate they often invite other units and soldiers attached
to support the regiment to join in and earn their belt buckles.
Sources:
7th Infantry Division Association
http://www.7th-inf-div-assn.com/
7th Infantry Division at Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_Infantry_Division
7th Infantry Division at GlobalSecurity.org
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/7id.htm/
9th Infantry Regiment Association
http://www.manchu.org/
9th Infantry Regiment at Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9th_Infantry_Regiment
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