7th Infantry Division (United States)

7th Infantry Division
7th Infantry Division Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1917–1921
1940–1971
1974–1994
1999–2006
2012–present
Country United States
Branch United States Army
TypeStryker infantry
SizeDivision
Part of I Corps
Garrison/HQJoint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, U.S.
Nickname(s)"Hourglass Division"
"Bayonet Division"
"California Division"[1]
Motto(s)"Light, Silent, and Deadly"
"Trust in Me"
March"Arirang"
Mascot(s)Black Widow spider
Engagements
WebsiteOfficial Website
Commanders
Current
commander
MG Michelle A. Schmidt
Notable
commanders
Charles H. Corlett
Archibald V. Arnold
Joseph Warren Stilwell Jr.
Lyman Lemnitzer
Arthur Trudeau
Hal Moore
Wayne C. Smith
William H. Harrison
Insignia
Distinctive unit insigniaAn hourglass, red on top and black on bottom, with diagonal bayonet imposed over it
Combat Service Identification Badge[2]A Red circle with a Green outline and black hourglass at its center
NATO Map Symbol
7
I

The 7th Infantry Division is an active duty infantry division of the United States Army based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord charged with sustaining the combat readiness of two Stryker brigade combat teams (BCT), a combat aviation brigade, and a Division Artillery Unit, as well as participating in several yearly partnered exercises and operations in support of U.S. Army Pacific and the Indo-Pacific region. The 7th Infantry Division is the only active-duty multi-component division headquarters in the Army.[3] The 7th Infantry Division is also home to two of the Army's newest enabling battlefield capabilities, the Multi Domain Task Force and the Intelligence, Information, Cyber, Electronic Warfare and Space Capabilities, or I2CEWS battalion.[4][5]

The division was first activated in December 1917 in World War I, and has been based at Fort Ord, California for most of its history. Although elements of the division saw brief active service in World War I, it is best known for its participation in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II where it took heavy casualties engaging the Imperial Japanese Army in the Aleutian Islands, Leyte, and Okinawa. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, the division was stationed in Japan and Korea, and with the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 was one of the first units in action. It took part in the Inchon Landings and the advance north until Chinese forces counter-attacked and almost overwhelmed the scattered division. The 7th later went on to fight in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill and the Battle of Old Baldy.

After the Korean War ended, the division was headquartered at Camp Casey with artillery units supporting the 1st Cavalry Division just south of the Korean Demilitarized Zone until the mid 1960s. In the late 1980s, it briefly saw action overseas in Operation Golden Pheasant in Honduras and Operation Just Cause in Panama. In the early 1990s, it provided domestic support to the civil authorities in Operation Green Sweep and during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. In 1994 the division was inactivated with a few units transferring to Fort Lewis and Fort Ord closing. In June 1999 the 7th was reactivated at Fort Carson, Colorado and comprised three National Guard brigades. The 1st Battalion, 162d Infantry of the Oregon Army National Guard was attached to the 7th Infantry Division and deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003 to 2004. The division's final role was as a training and evaluation unit for Army National Guard brigades, which it undertook until its inactivation in 2006.

On 26 April 2012, the Department of Defense announced the reactivation of the 7th Infantry Division headquarters supporting the mission of I Corps.

  1. ^ Gardener & Stahura 1997, p. 6
  2. ^ "Shoulder Sleeve Insignia". Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Stand-To!". www.army.mil. 7th Infantry Division.
  4. ^ "New space, cyber battalion activates at JBLM". www.army.mil.
  5. ^ "The U.S. Army's Experimental "Multi-Domain" Units Are Practicing How to Battle Chinese Warships". news.yahoo.com.