The 196th Infantry Brigade ("Chargers"[1]), also known as the Charger Brigade was first formed on 24 June 1921 as part of the United States Army Reserve's 98th Division with the responsibility of training soldiers.
World War II
During World War II, the 98th initially defended Kauai, Hawaii and Maui, Hawaii, and finally responsible for defending Oahu, Hawaii later in the war.
The Division began intensive training in May 1945 to prepare for the invasion of Japan, but the war ended before they could depart Hawaii. However, the unit arrived in Japan for occupation duty as the 3rd Platoon, 98th Reconnaissance Troop Mechanized, of the 98th Infantry Division, where it eventually was inactivated on 16 February 1946, in Charlotte, NC.
In April 1972, the 196th moved to Da Nang to assist in port security duties. Units of the brigade were rotated through Phu Bai Combat Base to provide base security.[4] The brigade finally left South Vietnam on 29 June 1972 as the last combat brigade to leave Vietnam. The 196th served in Vietnam from 15 July 1966 through 29 June 1972. The brigade suffered 1,188 killed-in-action, and 5,591 wounded-in-action during its service in Vietnam.
Operations as a separate Brigade (15 July 1966 – 25 September 1967)
LRRP, 196th Infantry Brigade (later reflagged as Co E, 51st Infantry)
Brigade Support
8th Support Battalion
175th Engineer Company
23rd Military Police Company
408th Radio Research Detachment (ASA)
635th Military Intelligence Detachment, Team 2
544th Military Police Platoon
687th Signal Company
196th Signal Company (Prov)
27th Chemical Detachment
10th Public Information Detachment
HHD & Band, 196th Support Battalion (Prov)
569th Military Intelligence Detachment
Company C, 37th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade (62nd. Co.)
Post Vietnam
On 26 May 1998, the 196th Infantry Brigade was reactivated during a ceremony at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. The newly reflagged brigade, previously designated as the Training Support Brigade Pacific, is organized as a Training Support Brigade, and is assigned to United States Army Pacific (USARPAC). The 196th Infantry Brigade provides National Defense Authorization Act Title XI pre-mobilization, post-mobilization and demobilization support to Army reserve component units in Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, the Commonwealth of Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, the Hawaiian Islands, Japan and the Republic of Korea. The 196th Infantry Brigade executes its mobilization operations at Mobilization Force Generation Installation (MFGI) Hawaii at Schofield Barracks and at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), and at three Mobilization Sites, located in Guam, Japan and the Republic of Korea. The Brigade is also designated by USARPAC as the Validation Authority for reserve component forces mobilized onto Title 10 United States Code, Active Duty. Since 2001, the 196th Infantry Brigade has trained more than 10,000 Soldiers that deployed to support combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Horn of Africa, and the Southern Philippines.
From 1998 to the early 2020s, the 196th Infantry Brigade supported annual USARPAC and United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) Theater Security Cooperation Program (TSCP) exercises such as Balikatan, Cobra Gold, Yama Sakura, Talisman Saber, Hamel, and Terminal Fury.
The brigade continues to serve as the USARPAC executive agent for training and readiness oversight (TRO) over the Alaska, Guam and Hawaii National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Civil Support Teams (CST), and the Hawaiian Army National Guard Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Explosive (CBRNE) Enhanced Force Package (CERFP).
In 2007, the 196th Infantry Brigade was awarded the Army Superior Unit Award for its support to the War on Terror in preparing reserve component units and Soldiers for combat duty.
In 2013, USARPAC assigned the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Capability (JPMRC) to the 196th Infantry Brigade, which serves as the core of an Operations Group (OPSGROUP) for the capability. JPMRC provide enhanced live, virtual, constructive collective training opportunities to USARPAC Battalion Task Forces and Brigade Combat Teams at their home station and at sites throughout the Indo-Pacific.
In 2024, the 196th Infantry Brigade was formally recognized as the U.S. Army's fourth Combat Training Center - the Joint Multinational Readiness Training Center. JPMRC executes rotations for units and leaders in the Theater Army’s complex operating environment designed to replicate combat by stressing every warfighting function and generating readiness in theater.
As of 2024, the 196th Infantry Brigade consists of:
Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center, located at Fort Shafter, Oahu, Hawaii
HQ & HHC, 196th Infantry Brigade, Fort Shafter, Oahu, Hawaii
1st Battalion, 196th Infantry Brigade, "Mavericks" located at Fort Shafter, Oahu, Hawaii
2nd Battalion, 196th Infantry Brigade, "Nanook" located at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK
3rd Battalion, 196th Infantry Brigade, "Taga" located at Barrigada, Guam
Support Battalion, 196th Infantry Brigade, "Cobras" located at Fort Shafter, Oahu, Hawaii
Medal of Honor
The 196th Infantry Brigade has six Medal of Honor Recipients. All six recipients earned their Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. The Medal of Honor is the United States' highest award for military valor in action. And while over 150 years have passed since its inception, the meaning behind the Medal has never tarnished. Etched within are the very values that each Recipient displayed in the moments that mattered—bravery, courage, sacrifice, integrity. A deep love of country and a desire to always do what is right.
The dramatic TV series Tour of Duty, which ran on CBS from 1987 to 1990, depicted a platoon of infantrymen serving in Vietnam from the 196th during the show's first season.
In Season 2, episode 4 of the TV series Prison Break, Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell pretends to be a soldier from the 196th Brigade to a police officer.
