Headquarters Location: Camp Douglas
Commander: Col. Matthew Elder | Senior Enlisted: Command Sgt. Maj. Aaron Johnson
With more than 3,400 Soldiers and units based in 36 Wisconsin communities, the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team is the largest unit in the Wisconsin Army National Guard. Brigade combat teams are the basic deployable combat maneuver units in the U.S. Army today. The 32nd IBCT resembles a small-scale combat division, with infantry, cavalry, field artillery, and special troops units for intelligence, signal, military police, and combat engineers.
The 32nd IBCT is descended from the 32nd “Red Arrow” Division. In 1967, the 32nd Division was inactivated and reorganized as the 32nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) (Mechanized). The 32nd was again reorganized into the 32nd IBCT in 2007 to reflect the needs of the U.S. military for operations in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
The 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team spent 2008 training and preparing for a mobilization and deployment. The unit was alerted in late 2007, and it received a mobilization order in December that called up more than 3,000 Soldiers for an active duty mission in Iraq, beginning in 2009. Eight other Wisconsin National Guard units were tapped to augment the brigade. This is the largest operational deployment of Wisconsin National Guard forces since World War II. The 32nd will have a security force mission and will be assigned tasks to assure freedom of movement and continuity of operations in Iraq.