58th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (United States) - History

History

The 58th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was one of the primary units of the Maryland Army National Guard. It consisted of an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) format of two infantry battalions, one light cavalry squadron, one towed artillery battalion, a brigade support battalion and a special troops battalion. It deployed overseas for combat service in the Iraq theater during the War on Terror in 2007. This is the brigade's first combat deployment, although some of its subordinate units served in prior wars.

The unit was originally organized in 1917 as one of the 29th Infantry Division's two infantry brigades, and originally consisted of the 115th Infantry Regiment (Maryland) and 116th Infantry Regiment (Virginia). In 1963, the Brigade was revived as the 3rd Brigade, 29th Infantry Division. In 1968, it was redesignated as the 3rd Brigade, 28th Infantry Division when the 29th Infantry Division was inactivated. In 1976, it was disassociated from the 28th Infantry Division and reorganized as the 58th Infantry Brigade (Separate). When the 29th Infantry Division reactivated in 1985, the brigade again assumed the "3rd Brigade" designation. It maintained this designation until 2006, when it was redesignated as part of its transformation into a modular brigade.

By FY 2007, as part of the overall shift to "more tooth, less tail," Army National Guard brigades are planned to be reorganized to form 34 brigade units following the modular design of the Active Army. The brigade headquarters is based in Towson, MD., with major subordinate units headquartered Dundalk, MD.; Annapolis, MD.; Hagerstown, MD.; Easton, MD.; and Ellicott City, MD.