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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – The 28th Infantry Division’s artillery force structure will see several major changes in 2025 as part of an Army-mandated reorganization.
The division will inactivate 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery Regiment and the 2803rd Forward Support Company on Aug. 31, 2025, and will activate the 28th Division Artillery, or DIVARTY, on Sept. 1, 2025.
The 1-109th FA and 2803rd FSC are both part of the 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.
Maj. Gen. Michael Wegscheider, commanding general of the 28th ID, said this reorganization will bring the division into alignment with standardized Army force structure to ensure the division is capable of conducting complex large scale combat operations.
“While transformation often presents challenges for Soldiers and units affected, the division’s leadership is committed to ensuring that this reorganization is conducted seamlessly,” Wegscheider said. “We will do everything we can to ensure Soldiers, their families and the histories of our accomplished units are taken care of throughout the process and that the ‘Iron Division’ remains an agile and lethal fighting force.”
Once activated, the 28th DIVARTY will be the force field artillery headquarters for the 28th ID and will establish the standards of training and certification and advise the division and brigade-level commanders on the employment of fires.
DIVARTY will provide oversight of training and readiness in order to provide the division commanding general an accurate assessment of the division’s organic fires capabilities, while also serving as the proponent commander for leader development of all fires leaders.
The 28th DIVARTY will be commanded by a colonel, but a commander has not been selected yet.
Soldiers assigned to 1-109th FA and 2803rd FSC will have the opportunity to be re-assigned to another unit in their current MOS, attend MOS-transition training to receive an additional MOS and be re-assigned to a new unit, or separate from the military if their separation date is within 90 days of the unit’s inactivation date.
Most of 1-109th FA’s equipment will be absorbed by the DIVARTY and 1-108th FA, which is part of the 28th ID’s 56th Styker Brigade Combat Team. The rest of the equipment will be coded for disposition within the rest of 28th ID, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, and then nationally.
Additionally, in fiscal year 2025, Alpha Co., 1-108th FA will relocate from Hanover to Plymouth, and the Fire Support Detachment of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1-108th FA will be organized in Hanover. The 28th DIVARTY will be stationed at the Kingston Armory in Wilkes-Barre.
“These force design updates aim to modernize the 28th Infantry Division into a standard light division capable of executing large scale combat operations in a multi-domain environment,” said Maj. Christopher Repin, the 28th ID’s deputy operations officer.
The 109th Field Artillery Regiment has a storied history dating back nearly 250 years. Soldiers from the regiment and its predecessor units have participated in nearly every major war in America’s history, including the Revolutionary War, the Mexican War, the Civil War, World Wars I and II and the War on Terrorism.
The unit was originally organized as a Connecticut Militia unit during the Revolution and was one of the units that encamped at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78.
Also of note, during the Battle of Gettysburg the unit – then designated the 143d Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry – fought at McPhersons Ridge, prevented the flanking of the I Corps and helped cover the withdrawal back through the town on July 1.
The lineage and honors as well as the federal recognition of 1-109th FA will be passed to Headquarters Battery, 28th DIVARTY to preserve the unit’s history and accolades. The lineage and honors of the 2803rd FSC transfer is still being determined.
Considering all the moving pieces, Repin said this reorganization will require a lot of work.
“Anytime units are activating and/or deactivating, it is challenging, complex and fragile,” Repin said. “The 28th ID remains committed to provide the optimal benefit for the affected Soldiers and to ensure a proper transfer of lineage and honors from the affected units.”
| Date Taken: | 09.05.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.05.2024 08:18 |
| Story ID: | 480128 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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