181st Infantry Regiment (United States)

181st Infantry Regiment (6th Massachusetts)
Coat of arms
Active	1636–present
Country	England (1636–1707) Great Britain (1707–1776)  United States (1776–present)
Branch	Massachusetts Army National Guard
Size	Regiment
Motto(s)	"Keep Your Powder Dry"
Anniversaries	19 April: Battle of Lexington (1775) and Pratt Street Riot (1861)
Engagements	French and Indian Wars American Revolution War of 1812 American Civil War Spanish–American War Mexican Expedition World War I World War II Guantanamo Bay detention camp Iraq War War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Battle honours	Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for actions in the Ardennes (1944) French Croix de Guerre with Gilt Star (1918) French Croix de Guerre with Palm (1945) French Fourragère (1945)
Commanders
Current commander	LTC Alex C Hampton
Notable commanders	Edgar C. Erickson
Insignia
Distinctive Unit Insignia

The 181st Infantry Regiment shares the distinction of being the oldest combat regiment currently organized in the United States Army.^[1] It is one of several National Guard units with colonial roots and campaign credit for the War of 1812. The regiment traces its history to 13 December 1636, when it was one of four colonial regiments of foot of the British Crown in Massachusetts. It later served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, with Union forces in the American Civil War, and as a federalized Massachusetts National Guard regiment with the U.S. Army during War with Spain, Mexican Border Campaign, World War I, and World War II. In 2006 Company A (Agawam) of the battalion deployed as a member of KFOR8 to Kosovo in support of Operation Joint Enterprise. Most recently the 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry has served in Iraq, in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, and in Afghanistan. The only active element of the regiment is the 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, which returned from a year of service in Afghanistan in July 2011. The 1st Battalion was mobilized in March 2017 for one year of service with the Multinational Force & Observers in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Currently, the 1st Battalion is a part of the 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, a major formation of the New Jersey National Guard. It was reflagged from the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in 2017.^[2]