29th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) The 29th Infantry Regiment ( " Pioneers " ) is a unit of the United States Army first formed in 1813 . History . Establishment and early missions . The first 29th Infantry was constituted on 29 January 1813 , and saw service in the War of 1812 . Following this , the regiment was merged with the 6th Infantry . The second 29th Infantry was constituted on 3 May 1861 , as the 3rd Battalion of the 11th Infantry , one of the nine " three - battalion " regiments of regulars , each battalion containing eight companies of infantry , in contrast to the original ten regular regiments of infantry , which were organized on the traditional ten - company line . Following the Civil War , the Army was reorganized by Congress in July 1866 , and the 11th was divided into three regiments , each battalion receiving two additional companies and being organized along traditional lines . The 1st Battalion retained the designation of the 11th Infantry , while the 2nd Battalion became the 20th Infantry and the 3rd Battalion the 29th Infantry . The 29th Infantry was disbanded in the 1869 reduction of the Army to 25 regiments . The present 29th Infantry was created by Congressional order on 2 February 1901 . The regiment actually formed on 3 March 1901 at Fort Sheridan , Illinois under the command of Colonel W . M . Van Horn . One year after its organization , the 29th set sail from San Francisco for the Philippines . The regiment served with distinction on the islands of Cebu , Panay , and Negros . After quelling the insurgency , the regiment remained to suppress bandits until its departure in April , 1904 . The 29th performed garrison duties in Utah and Arizona until 1907 , when it returned to the Philippines . In 1909 it was transferred in garrison duties in upstate New York , where it remained until 1915 , when it was dispatched to Panama for duty guarding the Panama Canal . The regiment participated in a number of jungle exercises , and also guarded German prisoners of war . The 29th left Panama in September 1918 and arrived at Camp Beauregard , Louisiana shortly thereafter . The regiment was assigned to the newly formed 17th Division , which was preparing to sail to Europe . In late September an epidemic of influenza struck which delayed preparations . By the time the epidemic was over , the Armistice of 1918 had been signed , ending the war in Europe . The regiment remained in Camp Shelby , Mississippi demobilizing troops returning from overseas . In 1919 , the 29th arrived at Camp Benning and immediately assumed the duties of the Demonstration Regiment for the then - new Infantry School . In addition , it was given the mission of actually building the post . For eight years the men of the 29th lived in tents while they built the Cuartel Barracks , Gowdy Field , and Doughboy Stadium , among other things . During this time the regiment adopted the motto " We Lead The Way " in light of its mission as Demonstration Regiment and trainers for the Infantry School . World War II and later . When the United States entered World War II , the 29th Infantry moved to Iceland , where it defended the rocky coastline until shipped to England in preparation for the invasion of Europe . In December , 1944 the regiment deployed to France where it provided security to the " Red Ball Express " , the supply route which kept the armored thrust rolling into Germany . During the " Battle of the Bulge " , the regiment secured and defended river crossings along the Meuse River in the vicinity of Namur and Liege , Belgium . The Regiment saw heavy combat near Jemelle and Rochefore , Belgium and was then deactivated in October , 1946 . The 29th served in the Army of occupation at Frankfurt on Main and then in the Bremen Enclave near Bremerhaven at Camp Grohn . Reactivated on the island of Okinawa in May , 1949 , the 29th Regiment was attached to the 24th and 25th Divisions from 24 July 1950 to 5 September 1950 . The 1st and 3rd Battalions suffered heavy losses during fighting in the vicinity of Chinju , Masan , and during the establishment of the Pusan perimeter in the Korean War . The regiment returned to Okinawa in September 1950 where it remained until it returned to Fort Benning in November 1954 . Current mission . During the time between the World Wars , the 29th Infantry Regiment trained infantry soldiers and leaders , demonstrated tactics and tested innovations in Infantry warfare at Fort Benning including providing soldiers for the first parachute unit in the U . S . armed forces . On July 17 , 2007 , Headquarters & Headquarters Company , 29th Regiment , was deactivated and reflagged 197th Infantry Brigade to follow suit with the rest of the Army under the regimental system . 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion , 29th Infantry Regiment , remain flagged as such , and continue to provide support the United States Army Infantry School . Today , elements of the 29th Infantry Regiment are located at Fort Benning , GA . The 1 , 300 officers , noncommissioned officers , soldiers , and civilians assigned to 1st and 2nd Battalion provide instruction in courses that train privates to colonels on and in a wide variety of subjects and equipment ; subject matter expertise for the development and evaluation of new doctrine and equipment ; support Reserve Component units in their periodic training ; provide troops , vehicles , and equipment to support Infantry School resident instruction ; and have proponency for a variety of field manuals . Courses . In its role under the United States Army Infantry School , the battalions of the 29th Infantry Regiment provides training to the soldiers of the US Army . Below is a list of the courses currently taught by the 29th :