80th Division ( United States ) The 80th Division ( Institutional Training ) ( " Blue Ridge " ) was a formation of the United States Army . During World War I and World War II , the unit was designated the 80th Infantry Division . Nicknamed the " Blue Ridge Division " , it was initially composed of draftees from the mid - atlantic states of Virginia , West Virginia , Pennsylvania and Maryland . From 1946 to 1952 , the division was redesignated the 80th Airborne Division . In May 1952 , it was designated Reserve Infantry Division and a Reserve Training Division in March 1959 . In 1994 , the division was granted the designation , 80th Division ( Institutional Training ) . On 1 October 2008 the Division underwent a major transformation and is now the 80th Training Command . World War I . History Because of significant common heritage in the past ( Indian War , Revolutionary War and Civil War ) , residents of Pennsylvania , Virginia and West Virginia became the structure of the 80th Division . The 80th Division was organized in August 1917 at Camp Lee , Virginia . The units were made up mostly of men from the above three states . Units The 317th Infantry included men from the Piedmont and Western Virginia areas ; the 318th Infantry was made up mostly of men from the Shenandoah Valley and Tidewater areas ; the 313th Machine Gun Battalion were mostly men from the Erie area . These units comprised the 159th Brigade . The 318th Infantry were nicknamed * squirrels * , while training with the British in the Artois / Picardy section of France : 1st Battalion were RED squirrels ; 2nd Battalion were GRAY squirrels ; 3rd Battalion were called FLYING squirrels . The insignia of the 318th was a square ; the machine gun unit colored their square red and blue . The 319th Infantry included men from Allegheny County and from that area north to Erie , and some from Eastern Ohio . The 320th Infantry were mostly men from Pittsburgh ; the 315th Machine Gun Battalion were men from Pittsburgh and Erie . These units combined to create the 160th Brigade . The 313th , 314th and 315th Field Artillery units were composed of men almost exclusively from the State of West Virginia , and were the 155th Field Artillery Brigade . Serving with the Division were the 314th Machine Gun Battalion , men from the Tidewater area , as well as the 305th Engineers , men from an area east and north of Pittsburgh ; the 305th Trains ( Ammunition , Motor Supply and Sanitary ) were men from Western PA , West Virginia and VA . The engineers were more often than not sent out ahead . During the rest period from 14 October through the Armistice , they finally were outfitted with U . S . Springfield and Browning automatic rifles . They had two weeks to train before the third and final push began in the Meuse Argonne . It was also during this period that an attack formation was reorganized to allow for more maneuverability . Meuse - Argonne The 155th Field Artillery Regiment was in combat from the start of the Meuse Argonne , continuously with the 80th Division , but served also with the 90th Division into Germany , until after the Armistice . Altogether , the 155th served with five different divisions . During the Meuse Argonne campaign , the 80th Division was the only one that saw action during each phase of the offensive ( three times ) . And they first earned their motto , " The 80th Division Moves only Forward ! " . The artillery of the Division boasted more days of continuous combat firing than the batteries of any other American Division . It is of interest to note that the 80th captured two Germans and one machine gun for every man wounded and one piece of artillery with gun crew for every 10 men wounded . Men of the 80th Division received 619 Awards and Decorations . Helmet Insignias of the 80th " Blue Ridge " Division Source : Second full paragraph on page 130 of " History of the Eightieth Division A . E . F . " . , authored by Russell Stultz , and edited , enhanced and published by Dr . Lee S . Anthony in 2004 : " Previously announced , the distinctive symbols of the various units of the Division were declared official on April 30th 1918 . For the four Infantry Regiments , in their order beginning with the 317th Infantry , they were a diamond , square , circle , and semi circle . The symbol of each unit ` s Headquarters Company was colored red , white and blue ; that of the Supply Company red and white ; that of the Machine Gun Company red and blue . The battalion symbols were colored in red ( Coys , A , B , C , D ) , white ( Coys , E , F , G , H ) , blue ( Coys , I , K , L , M ) in numerical order . The three Machine Gun battalions were identified with a shield - blue and white ( 313th ) , red and white ( 314th ) , red and blue ( 315th ) , in order , beginning with the 313th M . G . Bn . Other Units of the Commandwere assigned equally distinctive symbols , thereby enabling property and induviduals immediately identified by the markings required on the packing cases , wagons , helmets and other property articles " . All Artillery Units wear the " Gun Sight " on their Helmets . It referenced the 313th F . A . and 314th F . A . with two blocks at approximately 45 degrees and 270 degrees . The 315th F . A . was 155mm and their " Gun Sight " emblem was a variation of this emblem . It contained the Infantry colors ( blue ) in the four quadrants . In the center , there was a star and the battery letter was in the center of the star . The Engineer Units were identified by Spades on their helmets . White and red for the headquarters Company , red for the 1st Bn . ( Coys , A , B , C ) , white for the 2nd Bn . ( Coys , D , E , F ) . World War II . Combat chronicle . On 5 August 1944 , the 80th landed at Utah Beach . The Division was destined to become the " work horse " of General Patton ' s 3rd Army and to play a key role in the famed 3rd Army breakthrough at Avranches . The Division then attacked Argentan , taking it , 20 August , and creating the Falaise Pocket . After mopping up in the area , the 80th took part in the Third Army dash across France , cutting through Saint - Mihiel , Châlons , and Commercy in pursuit of the retreating Germans until stopped by the lack of gasoline and other supplies at the river Seille . From 25 September to 7 November , the Division maintained an aggressive defense of positions west of the Seille , and prepared for the Third Army sweep into the industrially vital Saar Basin . The attack jumped off on 8 November , the 80th advancing through Delme Ridge , Faulquemont , and St . Avold to within of Saarbrücken , when it was relieved by the 6th Armored Division , 7 December 1944 . After 10 days rest , the Division returned to combat , moving southeast to take part in an attack on the Siegfried Line at Zweibrücken when the Germans launched their winter offensive in the Ardennes . The 80th was moved northward to Luxembourg and was hurled against the German salient , fighting at Luxembourg and Bastogne . By Christmas Day , men of the 80th were side - by - side with the tanks of the 4th Armor Division , battering forward through murderous opposition to help the 101st Airborne Division , besieged in Bastogne . Over frozen , snow - covered terrain , the attack gained nine bitter miles despite constant machine gun and mortar fire . The next day , the gap between the rescuers and the besieged was narrowed to 4000 yards . On 28 December , the 80th broke through , bringing relief to the 101st before driving the enemy across the Sure to Dahl and Goesdorf , 7 January 1945 , and across the Clerf and Wiltz Rivers by 23 January . On 7 February 1945 , the Division stormed across the Our and Sauer Rivers at Wallendorf , broke through the Siegfried Line , pursued the fleeing enemy to Kaiserslautern , 20 March , and crossed the Rhine , 27 – 28 March , near Mainz . Pursuit continued in April , the Division defeating the German defenders at Kassel , driving rapidly to Erfurt on the 12th , and Weimar , Jena , and Gera on the 14th . Relieved , 21 April , it moved to Nürnberg for occupation duty and on 28 April , to Regensburg , then to the Enns River , battling to the very end . It has been alleged that the last shot fired on the western front was in Czechoslovakia by the 80th , the last of General Patton ' s Divisions still in action . General Patton issued his cease - fire order at 0800 on 8 May 1945 . By V - E day , the 80th Division had amassed 289 days of combat and had captured more than 200 , 000 enemy soldiers . The Division was inactivated in January 1946 , but reactivated in December of that year as the 80th Airborne Division . Since then , the Division has been reorganized several times . As an Airborne Division , it became one of 24 organized Reserve Corps divisions . In 1952 , it was reorganized as the 80th Infantry Division and remained as such for seven years . In March 1959 , it was reorganized as the 80th Division ( Training ) , with a primary focus of providing Initial Entry Training to trainees at Fort Bragg , North Carolina , and Fort Jackson , South Carolina , a mission and structure that lasted for many years . In 1988 and 1990 , the Division carried out ten - week exercises for wartime mobilization missions named , " Old Dominion Forward " at Fort Bragg , setting up training for nearly 700 new Soldiers . Persian Gulf War . Units from the 80th Division were activated in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm . Two 80th Division units were called to active duty in support of Operation Desert Shield / Storm . The 424th Transportation Company of Galax , Virginia , was activated 17 November 1990 . After training and equipping at Fort Eustis , Virginia , it deployed to Saudi Arabia 5 January 1991 . For its service in the war the 424th Transportation Company was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation . Citation reading : " . . . under adverse conditions in a combat zone , logging over 850 , 000 accident - free road miles , in the countries of Saudi Arabia , Kuwait and Iraq . " By the end of the war , elements of the 424th had advanced as far as the Euphrates River in support of coalition assault units . The 424th returned to the United States on 29 – 30 June 1991 , and to home station 3 July . Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion , 318th Regiment , 4th Brigade , at Fort Story , Virginia , were activated 23 January 1991 , and reported to Fort Eustis to train recalled reservists . Because of the short duration of the ground war in Iraq and Kuwait , additional Individual Ready Reserve troops were not called up and the 3rd Battalion was released from active duty and returned to home station 17 March . New Training Reorganization . In 1992 , the Division began a Training Base Expansion mission at Fort Benning , Georgia . The mission changed to Professional Roundout Training at Fort Jackson , South Carolina , the following year when Reservists worked with active duty Army drill sergeants in training new Soldiers . October 1994 marked the fourth major reorganization since World War II , when it became Headquarters , 80th Division ( Training ) . Maintaining the Initial Entry mission , it expanded to provide " The Army School System " or TASS mission . The 80th took command and control of 10 Army Reserve Forces Schools , and along with legacy divisions from World War II ( 84th , 95th , 98th , 100th , 104th , and the 108th ) became one of seven Institutional Training ( IT ) Divisions , located in seven regions throughout the U . S . The 80th Division ( IT ) provided instructions for units in Region B which included Virginia , West Virginia , Pennsylvania , Maryland , the District of Columbia , and Delaware . Seven brigades of the 80th Division ( IT ) carried out specific training missions in the above states and proceeded to Fort Leonard Wood , Missouri , to support expansion of the U . S . Army Training Center and to conduct Basic Combat Training ( BCT ) , One Station Unit Training ( OSUT ) and other specialized training , as directed by Training and Doctrine Command ( TRADOC ) . Global War on Terrorism . So far 80th Division Soldiers have earned more than 1 , 144 medals and citations including 31 Purple Hearts , 2 Bronze Stars with Combat V , 467 Bronze Stars , 84 Combat Infantryman Badge s ( CIB ) and 187 Combat Action Badges ( CAB ) . The unit continues to support the Global War on Terrorism with individual and group deployments to the theater of operations as required . 80th Training Command . On 1 October 2008 , the 80th Division ( IT ) transformed to become the 80th Training Command ( TASS ) . It expanded from the five states to reach across the entire country . Of the seven IT Divisions , only three remain , with the 80th taking command of the entire TASS mission for the Army Reserve . The 80th expanded from eight brigades and 12 battalions to three divisions ( 94th , 100th , 102nd ) , 13 brigades , 63 battalions , and 14 training centers . The 80th is the third - largest command organization in the U . S . Army Reserve . Made up of over 7 , 300 Army Reserve Soldiers assigned to 15 brigade units aligned under three major subordinate one - star commands with units located nationwide — from Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico and from the Carolinas and Georgia to California . It has an operational control training relationship with a unit in Hawaii and a support relationship with a unit in Germany . The Command ' s annual economic impact is about $ 40 – 60 million . In addition to the salaries of full - time civilian and military personnel , this figure also includes pay to Army Reserve Soldiers , money spent locally for the purchase of supplies , services , maintenance support , equipment , facility construction and renovation , and the G . I . Bill college tuition payments to Army Reserve Soldiers attending school . The 80th trains Army Soldiers in the career military fields for combat support and combat service support . The 94th Training Division ( Force Sustainment ) headquarters is located at Fort Lee , Virginia , and became fully mission capable in October 2009 . The 100th Training Division ( Operational Support ) has its headquarters in Louisville . Kentucky , and will soon relocate to Fort Knox . The 102nd Training Division ( Maneuver Support ) headquarters is located at Fort Leonard Wood , Missouri , and also became fully mission capable in October 2009 . 80th Division Commanders . World War I World War II Cold War Persian Gulf War _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Global War on Terrorism