38th Infantry Division (United States)

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38th Infantry Division
38th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1917–1919 1923–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Garrison/HQ	Indianapolis, Indiana
Nickname(s)	"Cyclone" (special designation),[1] "Avengers of Bataan"[2]
Engagements	World War I World War II New Guinea Luzon Southern Philippines
Decorations	Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit Commendation
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Daniel A. Degelow
Chief of Staff	COL Matthew R. Handy
Command Sergeant Major	CSM Brian T. Zirkelbach
Insignia
Distinctive Unit Insignia

The 38th Infantry Division is an infantry division of the United States Army and part of the Indiana National Guard. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and contains Army National Guard units from across the Midwest.

Formed in 1917, the division's special designation "Cyclone" refers to when the division's training camp at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, was damaged by a tornado. It is also nicknamed "Avengers of Bataan" due to its efforts during the Pacific War in World War II.

Deployed to France in the closing days of the Great War, the 38th Division was broken up to fill vacancies in units already in combat. After the war, the 38th Division demobilized. After a brief period of inactivity, it was reconstituted and reorganized in the National Guard on 16 March 1923.

The 38th Division was inducted into federal service on 17 January 1941 as the United States prepared for entry into World War II. The Division returned to Camp Shelby to reorganize as a triangular infantry division and train for combat. The 38th Infantry Division deployed to the Pacific theater in January 1944, initially to New Guinea where the division saw limited combat after final training. In December, the division deployed into Leyte, Philippines to support clearing and security operations. On 29 January 1945, the 38th Infantry Division took part in the combat landing against the Japanese held Southern Zambales Province on the island of Luzon. Afterwards, the 38th Infantry Division took part in the operations to clear Zig Zag Pass and the Bataan peninsula, and to secure Corregidor and Manila Bay. In recognition of their contributions in clearing the Philippines, the 38th Infantry Division received the nickname "The Avengers of Bataan".

Quickly demobilized after World War II, the 38th Infantry Division was reorganized and federally recognized on 5 March 1947 at Indianapolis, Indiana. During the intervening years, the 38th Infantry Division underwent numerous reorganizations while still retaining the designation as an infantry division. The 38th Infantry Division headquarters mobilized in support of Hurricane Katrina relief operations in 2005, exercising command and control over all National Guard elements deployed in the state of Mississippi. Since 11 September 2001, units of the division have participated in Operation Enduring Freedom (in Kuwait, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Cuba, and the Horn of Africa) and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2009, the 38th Infantry Division provided a headquarters element (designated Task Force Cyclone) to command and control counterinsurgency operations in Regional Command East, Afghanistan from August 2009 through June 2010.

The 38th Infantry Division headquarters had responsibility for the domestic all-hazards response team (DART) mission in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the event of a major incident in the eastern half of the United States.

Most recently the 38th Infantry Division headquarters deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield (OSS) in 2019 and 2020. Operation Spartan Shield includes operations in Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE). 38th Infantry Division Soldiers have also supported COVID-19 relief operations, as well as civil disturbance operations in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C.