4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment
The 4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment (4-319th FAR) is the field artillery battalion assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Nicknamed "The King of the Herd", 4–319th AFAR has participated in battles from World War I to current operations around the globe. The battalion's mission is to provide direct supporting fires to the brigade. The unit is skilled in both the art of integrating and synchronizing all available fire support assets and in the science of delivering accurate and timely lethal and non-lethal fires. "King of the Herd" Paratroopers in the  173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) are able to accomplish both of these tasks and other assigned missions after rapidly deploying via parachute assault. History. The 4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment (4-319th FAR), "King of the Herd," was activated on 8 June 2006 from elements of Battery D, 319th Field Artillery and 1st Battalion, 33d Field Artillery at Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany and assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Under the U.S. Army Regimental System, the battalion traces its lineage to Battery D, 319th Field Artillery Regiment, which was originally constituted 5 August 1917 and  assigned to the 82nd Division. It was organized and activated 9 September 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia and arrived in France in late 1917. The 319th Field Artillery participated in three major campaigns during World War I. At the conclusion of the war, the 82nd Division returned home and was demobilized on 18 May 1919. The battalion was reorganized and redesignated the 319th Field Artillery Battalion (FAB) in 1942 and was ordered into active federal service on 25 March 1942. As part of this reorganization, Battery D was absorbed into Battery A. On 15 August 1942, the 319th FAB was  reorganized and redesignated as the 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion (GFAB). The 319th GFAB participated in all six World War II campaigns of the 82nd Airborne Division, including assault landings in Normandy and the Netherlands. The 319th GFAB was awarded two Presidential Unit Citations and two French Croix de Guerre with palm. From 1957 until 1964, the reconstituted Battery D, 319th served in the pentomic 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Battery D was inactive from 1964 until 1988, when it was activated in Italy. Then known as "Delta Battery," it provided direct support to the 3rd Airborne Battalion  Combat Team, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment; to the 1st Airborne Battalion Combat Team, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment; and finally to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Operation Provide Comfort. Following the March 1991 cease fire, Battery D, 319th Field Artillery deployed with the 3rd Airborne Battalion Combat Team, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment to Turkey and northern Iraq for Operation Provide Comfort. Operation Iraqi Freedom I. On 26 March 2003, D/319, as part of 173rd Airborne Brigade, conducted a parachute assault on Bashur Drop Zone in northern Iraq. The battery operated in northern Iraq from March 2003 until February 2004, before re-deploying  to Italy. Operation Enduring Freedom VI. From February 2005 to February 2006, D/319 FAR deployed to OEF VI, providing fire support to forces throughout Regional Command East. In June 2006, Battery D, 319th FAR was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), 4-319 FAR, with two organic firing batteries (Battery A, 4-319 FAR and Battery B, 4-319 FAR) concurrently constituted and activated following the transformation of the 173rd Airborne Brigade into a Brigade Combat Team. Operation Enduring Freedom VIII. Less than a year after its formation as a battalion, 4-319 deployed to Afghanistan again , earning the Meritorious Unit Commendation for service from May 2007 to July 2008, while providing in excess of 26,000 rounds in support of combat operations in Nangahar, Nuristan, Kunar, and Laghman (N2KL) provinces in Regional Command East. 4-319 AFAR was led on this, their first deployment after activation as the 173rd Airborne Brigade's Field Artillery battalion, by LTC Stephen J. Maranian and CSM Mark Brandenburg. Operation Enduring Freedom X. From November 2009 until November 2010, 4-319 returned to Regional Command East with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, again receiving the Meritorious Unit Commendation for combat operations in Wardak  and Logar provinces. The battalion was led by then-LTC David Sink and had many victories. Operation Enduring Freedom XIII. The 4-319 FAR also returned to Wardak and Logar for OEF XIII from 2012 to 2013. During the fall of 2013, the battalion relocated from Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany to Grafenwoehr Training Area. Commanders & Command Sergeants Major. LTC Paul R. Daniels LTC Stephen J. Maranian LTC David G. Sink LTC Kelly L. Webster LTC William L. Kirby LTC David J. Pasquale LTC James H.B. Peay IV LTC Michael P. Tumlin LTC Robert Kinney CSM Lorenzo F. Wallace CSM  Mark V. Brandenburg CSM Dennis J. Woods CSM Franklin M. Jacobs CSM Elroy Grant CSM Robert Edwards Jr. CSM Jean Pierre Alcedo CSM Mark T. Smith CSM Matthew J. Gallagher Lineage & honors. Campaign participation credits. Note: The published Army lineage shows War on Terrorism "Campaigns to be determined" as of 12 April 2007. Comparison of the battalion's deployment dates with the War on Terrorism campaigns estimates that the battalion will be credited with participation in the six campaigns listed. Note: Separately cited decorations are not listed in the official lineage, updated 12 April 2007, posted by the Center for  Military History. Heraldry. Distinctive unit insignia. 319th Field Artillery Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia Coat of arms. 319th Field Artillery Regiment Coat of Arms