The 306th Infantry Regiment was a National Army unit first organized for service in World War I as part of the 77th Infantry Division in Europe. It later served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Since then it has served as a training Regiment. In 1999, it was withdrawn from the Combat Arms Regimental System and redesignated as a non-branch regiment. The regiment's 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th battalions are stationed at Fort Stewart under the command of the 188th Infantry Brigade. The 3rd Battalion is inactive.
History
World War I
The Regiment was constituted 5 August 1917 in the National Army as the 306th Infantry and assigned to the 153rd Infantry Brigade of the 77th Division. It was organized at Camp Upton, New York on 29 August 1917. The regiment participated in the following campaigns: Oise-Aisne, Meuse-Argonne, Champagne, and Lorraine. The regiment demobilized at Camp Upton on 9 May 1919.[1][2][3]
Ordered into active military service 25 March 1942 and reorganized at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The regiment participated in the January 1943 Louisiana Maneuvers. In July 1943, the regiment was organized with 3,256 officers and enlisted men:[5]
The regiment departed San Francisco on 23 March 1944 and arrived in Hawaii on 1 April. The 306th first saw combat during the liberation of Guam in July, 1944. The 306th served in the liberation of the Philippines, arriving on 23 November 1944. The regiment fought on Okinawa from 27 April though 27 June.[6][7][8]
Post War Service
Activated 17 December 1946 in the Organized Reserves with headquarters in New York City. In May 1959 the regiment was reorganized as a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System to consist of the 1st Battle Group, an element of the 77th Infantry Division under the Pentomic division design.[9] After adoption of the ROAD program,[10] the regiment was reorganized on 26 March 1963 to consist of the 1st and 2d Battalions, subordinate elements of the 77th Infantry Division. The 1st and 2d Battalions were inactivated 30 December 1965 and relieved from assignment to the 77th Infantry Division.[11]
Under the 87th Training Division
The 307th Infantry was withdrawn 17 October 1999 from the Combat Arms Regimental System, redesignated as the 307th Regiment, and reorganized to consist of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, elements of the 87th Division (Training Support).[12] The 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions were concurrently allotted to the Regular Army.
Transfer to First Army
On 15 December 2007, the battalions were relieved from their assignment to the 87th Division and reassigned to First Army's 188th Infantry Brigade. In October 2012, 3rd Battalion was inactivated. In 2016, the 4th and 5th Battalions were activated at Fort Stewart.
^Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Major Commands and Infantry Organizations, 1919-41. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 454. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.