26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade

26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
	Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1 September 2008 –
Country	United States of America
Branch	Army National Guard
Type	Maneuver enhancement
Size	Brigade
Garrison/HQ	Natick, Massachusetts
Nickname(s)	Yankee (Special Designation)
Motto(s)	First to Fight
Colors	Blue and White
Engagements	Operation Enduring Freedom
Commanders
Current; commander	Colonel Shawn C. Cody
Command Sergeant Major	Command Sergeant Major CSM Sean Ready
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade ("Yankee"^[1]) is a combat support brigade of the United States Army. Its headquarters is maintained by the Massachusetts Army National Guard. It draws its lineage from the Headquarters Company 26th Infantry Division.

However, most of the history of the current 26th MEB stems from the 26th Infantry Division. The 26th Division served in World Wars I and II and was recreated in the Massachusetts Army National Guard after being released from active duty on 13 November 1946.

History[]

Constituted 18 July 1917 in the National Guard as Headquarters, 26th Division (to be organized with troops from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
1 March 1963: Redesignated as 1st Brigade, 26th Infantry Division, Headquartered at Waltham, Massachusetts.
1 September 1993: Reorganized as 26th Infantry Brigade, 29th Infantry Division^[2]
2005: Reorganized into the 26th Brigade Combat Team, 42nd Infantry Division
2008: Reorganized as 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (MEB), a combat support brigade, Camp Curtis Guild, MA
2016: Relocated to Private First Class Michael J. Perkins Readiness Center, Natick, MA

Composition[]

The current composition of the brigade in July 2024 is as follows:

Headquarters Support Company, in Natick, Massachusetts
26th Signal Company, in Natick, Massachusetts
101st Engineer Battalion, in Methuen, Massachusetts
126th Brigade Support Battalion, in Springfield, Massachusetts
211th Military Police Battalion (Combat Support), in Lexington, Massachusetts
79th Troop Command
- Headquarters & Headquarters Company, at Camp Myles Standish, Rehobeth, Massachusetts
- 101st Financial Management Support Detachment, in West Newton, Massachusetts
- 215th Army Band, in Fall River, Massachusetts

Campaign participation credit[]

World War I
Champagne-Marne
Aisne-Marne
St. Mihiel
Meuse-Argonne
Ile de France 1918
Lorraine 1918
World War II
Northern France
Rhineland
Ardennes-Alsace
Central Europe
War on Terrorism (Campaigns to be determined)

^[3]

Decorations[]

Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes
Headquarters Company (Natick) additionally entitled to:
French Croix de Guerre with Gilt Star, World War I, Streamer embroidered LORRAINE
French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II, Streamer embroidered LORRAINE
French Croix de Guerre, World War II, Fourragere

^[3]

References[]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100709200756/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/spdes-123-ra_ar.html. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
↑ McGrath, The Brigade
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 "U.S. Army Center for Military History". 30 April 2015. https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/div/026manenhbde.htm.

External links[]

The unit's official lineage and honors can be found here

[SUD-1] 1.0 ^1.1 "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100709200756/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/spdes-123-ra_ar.html. Retrieved 12 July 2010.

[2] McGrath, The Brigade

[:0-3] 3.0 ^3.1 "U.S. Army Center for Military History". 30 April 2015. https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/div/026manenhbde.htm.

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