The 115th Brigade Support Battalion is a battalion of the United States Army. Organized at Camp Henry Knox, Kentucky in 1919 as the 657th Motor Transport Company, it was re-designated the 84th Motor Transport Company on 1 December 1919. Since that time, many re-designations have occurred as the United States Army has changed.
History
Interwar years
The 115th Brigade Support Battalion carries the history, lineage, and colors of the 15th Supply Transport Battalion. It was originally organized at Camp Henry Knox, Kentucky in 1919 as the 657th Motor Transport Company, it was re-designated the 84th Motor Transport Company on 1 December 1919 and demobilized 31 December 1920 at Camp Dix, New Jersey. The unit was reconstituted 1 May 1936 in the Regular Army as Troop D, 16th Quartermaster Squadron, an element of the 1st Cavalry Division.
World War II
Troop D, 16th Quartermaster Squadron, activated 15 January 1941 at Fort Ringgold, Texas. The troop traveled with the division throughout its World War II campaigns in the Pacific theater earning campaign credit for Bismarck Archipelago, Leyte, Luzon, and New Guinea as well as two Meritorious Unit Commendations for actions in support of the 1st Cavalry Division.
Troop D was moving with the division when it earned its initial first designation, "First in Manila" during the campaign to retake the Philippine Islands. As the Japanese will to fight evaporated on the clouds of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Troop D marched into Japan when the division achieved its second motto, "First in Tokyo". During the occupation, the troop became the quartermaster support unit for the division.
Korean War
In 1949, the troop became the 15th Quartermaster Company and moved to Korea in 1950 to participate in combat supplying of the 5th, 7th, and 3rd Cavalry Regiments, Division Artillery, and Special Troops. The 15th Quartermaster Company fought with the division north across the 38th Parallel. In the invasion of North Korea, the First Team’s third accolade, "First in Pyong Yang" was added to the battle honors of the division and its quartermaster company.
The 15th Quartermaster Company remained in Korea after the war and with the activation of "ROAD" division in 1963 was combined with the 23rd Transportation Battalion and re-designated as the 15th Supply and Transport Battalion.
Vietnam War
In 1965, the 15th Supply and Transport Battalion returned to Fort Benning, Georgia with the 1st Cavalry Division and organized as a part of the Army’s first airmobile division. From 1 July 1971 until the end of the year, the unit served in the Republic of Vietnam. During its tenure in Vietnam, it participated in many campaigns to include the Tet Counteroffensive. While in Vietnam, the 15th Supply and Transport Battalion received the Presidential Unit Citation, the Valorous Unit Award, three Meritorious Unit Commendations, and three Republic of Vietnam Crosses of Gallantry and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal.
Cold War
Upon its return to the United States in 1971, the 15th Supply and Transport Battalion and the 1st Cavalry Division moved to Fort Hood under the TRICAP concept. In January 1975, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganized, becoming the Army’s newest armored division. The 15th Supply and Transport Battalion adapted itself quickly to meet the ever-changing logistical needs of the division.
In 1984, the entire structure of the Division Support Command (DISCOM) underwent a dynamic change. Support battalions were activated, incorporating previous elements of the 15th Supply and Transport Battalion, the 15th Medical Battalion, and the 27th Maintenance Battalion. These units had previously provided brigade-level combat service support as forward area support teams; thus was born the 1st Forward Support Battalion on 1 October 1984. The 1st Forward Support Battalion took on the mission of supporting 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
Under the initial support battalion concept, the newly formed battalions had no history and lineage and only generic colors. This problem was corrected in 1987 when the Department of the Army and the Institute of Heraldry re-designated all support battalions. The 1st Forward Support Battalion became the 115th Support Battalion (Forward) on 15 May 1987 and given the full lineage, honors and colors of 15th Supply and Transport Battalion.