Force Structure and Unit History Branch

Using History For A Better Force Structure

Force Structure and Unit History Branch

Using History for a Better Force Structure

U.S. Army units, like today's soldiers, have their own individual

service record. Units display their history and battle honors on their

flags, or "colors". These honors are a source of unit pride, and

whenever soldiers gather to compare the unit decorations on their

uniforms there is an inherent "competition" for honors. General

George S. Patton once stated that decorations make "the men who

get them proud and determined to get more" and those "who have

not received them jealous and determined to get some in order to

even up." He went on to praise decorations as "the greatest thing we

have for building a fighting heart."

The Army did not originally have a system for tracing unit history and

honors. Units simply embroidered on their colors the names of the

battles in which they fought, but units often disagreed about what

differentiated a "skirmish" from a "battle" or a "campaign." By the

1920s, however, the Army found that it needed to standardize its

battle honors and created an office to do impartial research on unit

histories (often tracing them through a variety of redesignations) and

to determine campaign participation credit. The determination of unit

lineage and honors, one of the Army's oldest official historical

functions, is just one of the current missions of the U.S. Army Center

of Military History's Force Structure and Unit History Branch (formerly

called the Organizational History Branch). The branch administers

two major programs: one for Organizational History and another for

Force Structure Support. Because it selects which units to activate

and determines or verifies the unit honors displayed on flags and

guidons (and thus what individual soldiers wear on their uniforms),

the Force Structure and Unit History Branch affects almost every unit

and soldier in the Army.

Organizational History

Branch historians determine the lineage and honors of Army units

from all components that are organized under Tables of Organization

and Equipment (TOEs). Following the general guidelines laid down in Army Regulation (AR) 870-5, Military History:

Responsibilities, Policies, and Procedures, they conduct research in primary and secondary historical sources. This

research is then converted into a highly standardized and concise history called a Lineage and Honors Certificate (when

printed on parchment with an official War Department seal and signed for the Secretary of the Army by the Chief of Military

History) or a Statement of Service (the same historical information printed on plain paper). The Army Support Office of the

Soldier Systems Directorate, U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command, requires that units submit one of these

documents to requisition their flags or guidons, campaign streamers or silver bands, and decoration streamers. These

documents also certify a unit's entitlement to a special designation (like the 10th Cavalry's "Buffalo Soldiers") and to unit

historical files and property. This information also is used by The Institute of Heraldry to design unit heraldic devices,

including coats of arms and shoulder sleeve and distinctive insignia.

Branch personnel respond to thousands of official inquiries for organizational history information each year. In addition to

answering equests from units, the branch routinely provides information to members of Congress, the U.S. Total Army

Personnel Command's Military Awards Branch, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records, the U.S. Armed Services

Center for Research of Unit Records, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the Army Staff, field operating

agencies, major Army commands, and others. Although official inquiries take precedence, the branch answers requests

from veterans and their family members, academics,authors, and other parties as time and resources permit. Besides AR

870-5, the branch's organizational history activities are covered in AR 600-8-22, Military Awards, and AR 840-10, Heraldic

Activities: Flags, Guidons, Streamers, Tabards, and Automobile and Aircraft Plates.

Force Structure Support

During the 1980s, the Office of The Adjutant General transferred several important missions to the branch, including

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responsibility for maintaining the official rolls of the Army. As part of this function, branch historians record activations,

inactivations, redesignations, and other significant changes in unit status. By order of the Secretary of the Army, the branch

also issues unit change-in-status directives. As the Army's official arbiter of unit designations and long names (the term for

the complete official designation entered into joint databases), historians decide what official designations will be used by

all TOE units and various organizations established under Tables of Distribution and Allowances. The branch is the only

authority for updating long name entries in Headquarters, Department of the Army, databases such as ASORTS (Army

Status of Resources and Training System, part of the Joint Staff's automated command and control system), and also

selects which units to activate. For example, when the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans (DCSOPS)

approves the addition of units to the Army's force structure, the Force Structure and Unit History Branch coordinates with

the U.S. Army Force Management Support Agency to identify an appropriate unit and its historic unit identification code

(UIC). Historians use information provided by the DCSOPS (such as TOE functional mission, location, and other pending

or planned force structure actions) to select units with appropriate history for activation. Once the unit and its UIC have

been chosen and entered into the proper databases, major Army commands can begin documenting unit activations and

issuing permanent orders. Staff members frequently work with the commands to ensure that orders accurately reflect the

force structure actions coordinated through the branch. Throughout the Army's unit activation process, branch members

often find themselves involved with issues beyond those of a strictly historical nature. For instance, reflecting the

importance of UICs to an "automated" Army, our historians have resolved conflicts that surfaced when incorrect UICs or

designations were placed in logistical databases and verification was required to allow new units to receive their

authorized equipment.

The Force Structure and Unit History Branch also advises the Army Staff and field commands during significant Army

reorganizations, downsizings, and reflaggings. The historians prepare order of merit lists and provide other types of

historical support for the purpose of retaining the units with the most distinguished and suitable history whenever possible.

As the Army redesigns its force structure and prepares new TOEs, the historians coordinate with force developers and

documenters to determine the official unit designations that are published as part of the TOEs. Using its collection of

historic TOEs, the branch is often asked to provide information on the structure and authorized strength of various units.

Developers and planners use this information for determining potential combat strength, for wargaming, and for improving

future organizational designs. Although the Army's size has decreased in the last decade and there are fewer active units

in the force structure, the job of maintaining the Army's rolls has not become easier. An increasing number of unit

reorganizations and redesignations have kept the branch's historians busy to the point that force structure support

dominates the official caseload. Branch responsibilities and authorities in these areas are set forth under AR 220-5,

Designation, Classification, and Change in Status of Units; AR 71-32, Force Development and Documentation; and AR

600-82, The U.S. Army Regimental System.

Preparing for the Future

Due to the large number and variety of Army organizations, the branch's small staff divides its caseload based on the

Army's functional branches. This specialization allows the historians to become familiar with and develop expertise in the

particular organization and history of their assigned branches. Branch historians continue to prepare volumes in the

popular Army Lineage Series and, as needed, other studies (information papers, monographs, and pamphlets) on issues

relating to unit history and structure. The Army's force structure planners, TOE developers, Training and Doctrine

Command schools, and others use this information to help understand how the Army has structured itself in the past as

they prepare for the future. As an integral component of the Army's institutional memory, the branch is ready to assist as

the Army transforms itself to meet the challenges of a new century. It was actively involved, for example, in the

development of the new Brigade Combat Teams. Through the years the Army has found that using branch historians as

action officers for current and future force development issues serves to connect the Army's past, present, and future and

creates a better force structure.

Submitting Requests for Assistance

Its varied responsibilities mean that many people, from soldiers updating their personnel files to veterans researching their

wartime experiences, contact the branch to verify their units' decorations and service. The branch responds to

approximately 4,000 inquiries per year, with over a quarter of these from unofficial sources. Due to limited staffing and

resources, the branch can only accept telephonic requests for information from units and official government agencies.

(Please note that Regular Army and Army Reserve units requesting the preparation of Lineage and Honors Certificates

must still submit written requests-see address below. Army National Guard units should send correspondenc through the

National Guard Bureau.) Veterans, unofficial researchers, and other members of the general public may also send written

requests for information that will be answered as resources permit. The working files of the Force Structure and Unit

History Branch may be made available to researchers, who should make an appointment well in advance to ensure that

the appropriate historian is available to provide assistance. Branch files contain only documents that support the creation

of unit Lineage and Honors Certificates, and very limited information is available on the operational activities of particular

units during the nation's various military campaigns. (Please note that the branch maintains neither unit operational records

nor records of unit personnel.) Additional information about the Center of Military History (CMH) and about the location of

unit records is available through CMH ONLINE at www.history.army.mil/. The branch's address is

Commander

U.S. Army Center of Military History

ATTN: DAMH-FPO

102 4TH AVE BLDG 35

FORT MCNAIR DC 20319-5060

Phone: Commercial (202) 685-2733; DSN 325-2733

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Force Structure and Unit History Branch

An Overview

Major Responsibilities:

Determine the lineage and honors for Army TOE units of all components

Maintain the rolls of the Army

Determine official designations and select units for activation

Determine entitlement to unit historical files and property

Prepare studies as needed on issues relating to unit history

Prepare volumes in the Army Lineage Series

Publications (available through official distribution channels or from the Government Printing

Office):

Army Lineage Series

Armor-Cavalry: Part I (1969)

Armor-Cavalry: Part II (1972)

Infantry: Part I (1972)

The Continental Army (1983)

Air Defense Artillery (1985)

Field Artillery (1985)

Aviation (1986)

Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades (1987; Revised 1999)

Military Police (1992)

Military Intelligence (1998)

Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades (1998)

Signal Corps (under preparation)

Army Historical Series

Getting the Message Through: A Branch History of the U.S. Army Signal Corps (1996)

Army Regulations (for which the branch is sole proponent)

AR 220-5, Designation, Classification, and Change in Status of Units

A pamphlet entitled Organizational History is available upon request to assist unit historians in the preparation of unit

histories and the establishment and maintenance of organizational history programs.

Other Products:

Lineage and Honors Certificates

Statements of Service

Unit Day Certificates

Special Designation Certificates

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