42nd Infantry Division (United States) - Cold War

Cold War

On 13 October 1945 the War Department published a postwar policy statement for the entire Army. After the policy statement was published, the Army Staff prepared a postwar National Guard troop basis, which included twenty-four divisions, including the 42nd Infantry Division. Most soldiers considered the 42nd, initially organized with state troops in 1917, as a Guard formation. During the process New York successfully petitioned the War Department for the 42nd Infantry Division. After the state governors formally notified the National Guard Bureau that they accepted the new troop allotments, the bureau authorized reorganization of the units with 100 percent of their officers and 80 percent of their enlisted personnel. By September 1947 the 42nd Division headquarters, along with all the other new Guard divisional headquarters, had received federal recognition.

In April 1963, the 42nd Division was reorganized under the Reorganization Objective Army Division structure. From 1967 to 1969, the division was briefly part of the Selected Reserve Force, designed to reinforce the active army in Vietnam. In a 1968 reorganization, the division was split between the New York Army National Guard and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. In 1973-74, the division was converted back into an all-New York organization.

The 42d Infantry Division absorbed the units of the 26th Infantry Division and the 50th Armored Division of the Massachusetts and New Jersey Army National Guard, respectively, in post-Cold War restructuring. All three divisions were severely understrength, so the assets of the three were combined into one. The 50th Brigade, created from the assets of the disbanding 50th Armored Division, was initially assigned to the 42d Infantry Division as an armored brigade, but was transformed to an infantry brigade combat team (BCT) in the very first years of the 21st century as part of Army Modularity.

In the 1970s the division headquarters was located at the armory at 125 West 14th Street in Manhattan. It was later relocated to the Glenmore Armory in Troy, New York and remains there to this day. As part of Total Army restructuring, the division was organized under the XVIII Airborne Corps, and was previously teamed with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) for training and readiness purposes.