182nd Infantry Regiment ( United States ) The 182nd Infantry Regiment has the distinction of being the oldest regiment in the United States Army . The regiment traces its history more than 370 years , when it was a colonial regiment of foot of the British Crown in Massachusetts . It later served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War , with Union forces in the American Civil War , and as a federalized Massachusetts National Guard regiment with the U . S . Army during World War I and World War II . For many years the regiment was a mechanized unit , and in 2006 the regiment was converted into the 182nd Cavalry Regiment , headquartered at Melrose Armory in Melrose , Massachusetts . The only active element of the regiment is the 1st Squadron ( RSTA ) , 182nd Cavalry Regiment . An online article by the Massachusetts Army National Guard dated 3 August 2009 stated that the unit would soon revert to an infantry configuration . History . Formation and colonial operations . The 182nd Infantry Regiment traces its origins to the North Regiment which was constituted and organized on 7 October 1636 from existing " training bands " at Charlestown , New Town , Watertown , Concord , and Dedham . When these training bands , or militia companies , were incorporated into the North Regiment , Massachusetts became the first English - speaking government to adopt permanent army regiments ( standing regiments appeared in the English Army only in the 1640s ) . The regiment was redesignated on 10 March 1643 as the Regiment of Middlesex . As a colonial regiment operating in the American wilderness , the regiment was quick to incorporate changes in tactical doctrine based on conditions encountered in fighting Native Americans in King Philip ' s War and other conflicts , requiring each militiaman to own a modern flintlock musket prior to 1675 , a quarter of a century ahead of European armies . The unit was divided into two regiments on 13 October 1680 , one designated as the Lower Regiment of Middlesex , to include the town of Charlestown , Cambridge , Watertown , Woburn , Malden and Reading . It was redesignated prior to 1733 as the 1st Regiment of Militia of Middlesex . ( The 2nd Middlesex Regiment , born of this division , has also survived as the 181st Infantry Regiment ( United States ) ) . Massachusetts Army and the American Revolution . At the onset of the American Revolutionary War , the Massachusetts Provincial Congress , meeting as a shadow government , ordered the activation of the 1st Middlesex County Regiment on 19 April 1775 . It was reorganized and entered the Massachusetts Army as Gardner ' s Regiment on 23 April 1775 ( elements of the Regiment remained with the 1st Middlesex County Regiment for depot guards and for local defense ) . It was redesignated as Bond ' s Regiment upon the death of Colonel Gardner , on 3 July 1775 . The unit was again redesignated on 1 January 1776 as the 25th Continental Regiment of the Continental Army , and on 1 January 1777 as the 7th Massachusetts Regiment , Continental Line . The Regiment was mustered out of Continental service on 12 June 1783 . War of 1812 . The 182nd Infantry is one of only nineteen Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812 . Civil War . The unit was ordered into active service for the defense of Washington on 19 April 1861 with attached companies from the 1st and 7th Regiments of Infantry , Massachusetts Volunteer Militia , and Major Cook ' s Light Artillery Company . It was mustered into federal service on 1 May 1861 at Washington , D . C . , for three months service , and assigned to the 1st Brigade , 3rd Division . It participated in the First Battle of Bull Run before being mustered out on 1 August 1861 at Boston . The unit was again mustered into federal service between 16 September – 8 October 1862 at Wenham for nine months service ; during which time it served in the Department of North Carolina and with the XVIII Corp . It was mustered out on 2 July 1863 at Wenham . It was mustered into federal service at Camp Meigs , Readville , MA , in July 1864 for 100 days service and served with the VIII Corp in the Middle Military Division ( Baltimore and vicinity ) before being mustered out on 16 November 1864 at Readville and resumed state militia status as the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia . National Guard and overseas service . During the 1898 Spanish - American War the 182nd was mustered into federal service but did not go oversees . On 15 November 1907 , the 182nd , as part of the land forces of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia , was redesignated as a regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard . The 182nd was mustered into federal service on 25 June 1916 at Framingham for duty on the Mexican Border while stationed at El Paso , Texas . The regiment mustered out between 10 – 15 November 1916 . It was re - activated on 25 July 1917 and drafted into federal service on 5 August 1917 for service in World War I . The 182nd was redesignated on 11 February 1918 as the 3rd Pioneer Infantry Regiment , and served in the U . S . First Army sector in France before being demobilized between 25 – 31 July 1919 at Camp Devens . The unit reorganized on 12 July 1920 as the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard . On 21 March 1923 , it was redesignated as the 182nd Infantry Regiment , and assigned to the 51st Infantry Brigade along with the 101st Infantry Regiment . The 51st Infantry Brigade seems to have been assigned to the 26th Infantry Division . It was subsequently reorganized and federally recognized on 11 April 1923 with headquarters at Charlestown . World War II . The unit was inducted into federal service on 16 January 1941 at Charlestown for service in World War II . It was relieved from the 26th Division and assigned to the Task Force 6814 , on 14 January 1942 , which was sent to Melbourne , Australia . On 6 March 1942 the men of the 182nd broke camp outside Melbourne and boarded troop trains for the docks in Melbourne . With the rest of the Task Force , the 182nd traveled to a classified destination which turned out to be New Caledonia , where they arrived on 12 March 1942 . On 27 May 1942 , Task Force 6814 was redesignated the Americal Division , one of only two American infantry divisions to be assigned a name instead of a number ( Americal is a combination of the words American and Caledonia ) . As part of a piecemeal transfer of the Americal Division , the 182nd was deployed to combat in the Battle of Guadalcanal on 12 November 1942 , where the regiment ' s 3d Battalion participated in an operation to capture the Japanese defensive works atop the Sea Horse , a prominent terrain feature on the island . Maintaining contact with elements of other U . S . Army regiments in the assault , the 3rd Battalion began its ascent , and by 30 December was in action against Japanese forces atop the Sea Horse . The fighting was so intense that some of the Americans could not be removed after being killed , and were buried where they fell . In 2008 , the remains of Lt . Raymond S . Woods of the 182nd Infantry Regiment , who was killed in action on 30 December 1942 in fighting atop the Sea Horse Ridge , were located and transferred to JPAC . The 182nd later fought in the Bougainville campaign , the Northern Solomons , and later in the Battle of Leyte . On 26 March 1945 , during Operation " Victor II " , the 182nd landed at Talisay Beach , four miles ( 6 . 5 km ) west of Cebu City , taking Cebu City the next day . Moving into the jungled hills of the interior , the 182nd fought the Battle of Go Chan Hill 28 – 29 March 1945 and then battled to clear the other hills in the area . They were heavily counterattacked by fanatical Japanese defenders on Bolo Ridge . After eliminating Japanese resistance on Cebu , the 182nd rested and reequipped , later boarding ship from Cebu for occupation duty in Japan . Near the end of the war , the Americal Division was renamed the 23rd Infantry Division , though it retained its original designation in both official documents and informal usage throughout the war . Later service . The 2nd Battalion inactivated on 29 November 1945 at Fort Lewis , Washington . The regiment ( less 2nd Battalion which inactivated on 2 December 1945 at Fort Lawton staging area , WA ) was relieved from the Americal Division and assigned to the 182nd Regimental Combat Team on 8 July 1946 . It reorganized and was federally recognized on 5 December 1946 with headquarters at Charlestown . Its Headquarters relocated to Melrose on 30 September 1955 . The unit was relieved from the 182nd Regimental Combat Team on 1 May 1959 and reorganized as the 182nd Infantry ( Mechanized ) under the Combat Arms Regimental System . In 2006 , the regiment was reorganized and redesignated the 182nd Cavalry Regiment , ending 370 years of history as an infantry regiment . From August 2006 to November 2007 the 1st Squadron 182nd Cavalry served as Task Force Patriot in Kosovo . They were responsible for a large portion of southern Kosovo in the turbulent year that preceded final status and independence for Kosovo from Serbia . Effective 13 December 2010 , the 1 – 182nd Cavalry was yet again redesignated to the 1 – 182nd Infantry Regiment . In March 2011 , the 1st Battalion 182nd Infantry mobilized for service in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom . In July 2011 , the 182nd Infantry relieved the 181st Infantry in Afghanistan . 182nd Cavalry Regiment . As part of the RSTA force ( for Reconnaissance , Surveillance , and Target Acquisition ) , the 1st Squadron , 182nd Cavalry Regiment today serves as a fast - moving armored reconnaissance unit of the U . S . Army . As of 2007 , the squadron had detached elements serving in Iraq and Afghanistan . In 2008 , the squadron completed a 15 - month tour of active duty in Kosovo supporting the NATO efforts there as part of Task Force Patriot . One notable contribution of the Task Force was the collection of school supplies and textbooks for children in remote areas of the country through its civil affairs program .