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 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
equests 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
correspondenc 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.history.army.mil/. The branch's address is
Commander
U.S. Army Center of Military History
ATTN: DAMH-FPO
102 4TH AVE BLDG 35
FORT MCNAIR DC 20319-5060
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