2nd Chemical Battalion ( United States ) The 2nd Chemical Battalion consisting of the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment , 44th Chemical Company , and 181st Chemical Company at Fort Hood , TX and the 21st Chemical Company and 101st Chemical Company at Fort Bragg , NC . The 2nd Chemical Battalion is a United States Army chemical unit stationed at Fort Hood , Texas , United States and is part of the 48th Chemical Brigade . The battalion can trace its lineage from the 30th Engineer Regiment ( Gas and Flame ) and has served in World War I , World War II , the Korean War , Desert Storm , Desert Shield , and Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom . . History . Formation . Originally constituted as the 30 Engineer Regiment ( Gas and Flame ) which was activated on 15 August 1917 at Camp American University , Washington , D . C . The general staff of the American Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) decided to establish a Gas Service , part of which would be an offensive gas regiment . Born out of this decision was War Department General Order 108 , dated 15 August 1917 , which authorized and established the offensive gas regiments , the first of which was designated the 30th Engineer Regiment . Shortly thereafter , General Order 31 from the General Headquarters of the AEF officially activated the Gas Service Section with Colonel Amos Fries in command . World War I . The 30th Engineer Regiment served in France during World War I equipped with the 4 inch Stokes Mortar . On 13 July 1918 , it was redesignated as the 1st Gas Regiment and following the end of World War I , the regiment was disbanded on 28 February 1919 at Camp Kendrick , New Jersey . Later reraised on 24 February 1920 at Edgewood Arsenal , Maryland , it was redesignated on 5 February 1929 as the 1st Chemical Regiment and deactivated in 1935 and disbanded on 12 March 1942 . The men and equipment were transferred to the 2nd Separate Chemical Battalion , which was activated on 13 March , excluding B and C companies as well as a medical detachment . Those companies were officially activated at Fort Bragg , North Carolina on 1 April 1942 . The battalion arrived at Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation , Virginia on 4 June 1943 for transport to North Africa . The 30th Engineer Regiment was activated on 15 August 1917 at Camp American University , Washington , D . C . On 30 August 1917 Captain Earl J . Atkisson was assigned the task of raising and training the fledgling gas regiment . Atkisson then set out acquiring officers , enlisted men , equipment and information . Beginning on 19 October 1917 , the influx of enlisted personnel into the regiment was " near continuous " . The regiment ' s first enlisted man was an F . C . Devlin . Devlin applied for enlistment in Pittsburgh , enlisted at Washington Barracks and reported for duty at Camp American University on 19 October . Before deploying to France in 1917 many of the soldiers in the 30th Engineer Regiment ( Gas and Flame ) spent their time stateside in training that did not emphasize any chemical warfare skills . Much of the training stateside for the members of the army ' s only chemical unit focused on drill , marching , guard duty , and inspections . Despite the conventional training , the public perceived the 30th as dealing mainly with " poisonous gas and hell fire " . By the time those in the 30th Engineers arrived in France most of them knew nothing of chemical warfare and had no specialized equipment . Once in Europe troops with the 30th spent weeks digging trenches before finally receiving instruction in chemical warfare skills , including firing smoke and gas and gas mask skills . A few companies from the 1st Gas Regiment participated in combat during the 1918 Battle of Saint - Mihiel , but even then only fired smoke . Thus , even at the outset of the late - 1918 Meuse - Argonne Offensive none of the army ' s chemical soldiers had actually fired chemical weapons in combat . 1st Gas Regiment and interwar period . About two weeks after the United States Army Chemical Warfare Service ( CWS ) was created , on 13 July 1918 , the 30th Engineers was re - designated as the 1st Gas Regiment . The regiment was the first complete fighting unit of the new CWS and was entirely self - contained , including manufacturing and research facilities . Following World War I , the 1st Gas Regiment was deactivated , reactivated and re - designated several times . The 1st Gas Regiment was demobilized on 28 February 1919 at Camp Kendrick in New Jersey . Less than one year later , on 24 February 1920 the regiment was reconstituted at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland . Nine years later , on 5 February 1929 the unit was once again re - designated , this time as the 1st Chemical Regiment . The 1st Chemical was deactivated in 1935 , once again at Edgewood , and finally disbanded on 12 March 1942 . World War II . Arriving in North Africa on 22 June 1943 for the upcoming allied invasion of Sicily and arrived in Sicily on 10 July and was then redesignated on 20 August or 7 September 1943 as the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion , Motorized before participated in the allied invasion of Italy on 9 September 1943 . The battalion also participated in operations in Naples - Foggia , Rome - Arno , Ardennes - Alsace , Southern France , Central Europe and the Rhineland and 31 December 1944 , the battalion was redesignated the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion . The unit was disbanded in July 1946 while in Germany . The battalion lost a total of 54 men during World War II . Cold War . Reactivated on 1 February 1949 at Army Chemical Center , Maryland by absorption of the men and equipment of the recently deactivated 91st Chemical Mortar Battalion . With the outbreak of the Korean War , the unit arrived at San Francisco Port of Embarkation , California on 19 September 1950 and arrived in Pusan , South Korea on 8 October 1950 . Equipped with the 4 . 2 inch mortar , and served with the Eighth Army , supporting six United States divisions , eight Republic of Korea divisions , and the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade . In 1953 , the men and equipment were redesignated as 461st Infantry Battalion ( Heavy Mortar ) , while the unit became the 2nd Chemical Weapons Battalion ( Headquarters Company ) . During the Korean War , the battalion served 1007 consecutive days in action without relief and lost 62 men . The headquarters company was disbanded on 16 January 1955 at Dugway Proving Ground , Utah . On 7 January 1958 the unit was again reactivated , this time as the 2nd Chemical Battalion , with A , B , and C companies being disbanded about three years later and the headquarters detachment inactivated on 19 December 1973 at Fort McClellan Alabama . On 1 September 1981 the 2nd Chemical Battalion was activated at Fort Hood , Texas . The 2nd Chemical Battalion consists of Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment , the 44th Chemical Company , the 46th Chemical Company , the 63rd Chemical Company , and the 181st Chemical Company and deploys to designated theaters of operations providing command and control over chemical units conducting Nuclear warfare , Biological warfare and Chemical warfare ( NBC ) operations in support of US Forces . The Second Chemical Battalion served in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from March 2003 through February 2004 . They were responsible for seeking out weapons of mass destruction , conducting detainee transport , fire suppression , and recon . Campaign participation . During World War I , as the 30th Engineer Regiment , the unit participated in campaigns at Flanders , Lys and Lorraine in 1918 . Once reconstituted as the 1st Gas Regiment the unit was awarded additional battle streamer s for combat participation at Aisne - Marne , St . Mihiel , and the Meuse - Argonne Offensive . Unit commendations . Through its cycle of activations , deactivations and reactivations and re - designations several manifestations of the original 1st Gas Regiment have been awarded five different unit commendations or citations . For action in Korea , at Kumhwa , the regiment was awarded the Army Presidential Unit Citation , and a Navy Presidential Unit Citation for Wonju - Hwachon . The unit received the Army Meritorious Unit Commendation for participation in Southwest Asia . Two other unit awards were bestowed for action in Korea , a Navy Unit Commendation for action at Panmunjom and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for the defense of Korea . Traditions . Early on the 30th Engineer Regiment became known as the " Hell Fire Battalion " , and its soldiers as the " Hell Fire Boys " . A 15 November 1917 story in the " Baltimore Evening Star " stated : If His Satanic Majesty happened to drop around at the American University training camp to - day , he would see the " Hell Fire Battalion " at work and might blush with envy . On the War Department records the battalion is known as the " Gas and Flame Battalion of the Thirtieth Regiment Engineers . " Throughout the Army they are known as the " Hell Fire Boys " .