The 1968 reductions of the Army National Guard, initiated by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara who felt that fifteen divisions were too many, reduced the division to the 46th Brigade (formed from the 2nd Brigade at Wyoming, Michigan), which was allocated to the 38th Infantry Division on 1 February 1968.[3] The brigade was eliminated during Army restructuring in 2004.
History
By 1957 the division included the following units: Armories in parentheses, subordinate companies and batteries of battalions not shown.[4]
Headquarters, Special Troops, 46th Infantry Division
Headquarters Company, Special Troops (Lansing)
Medical Detachment and Division Headquarters (Lansing)
1st Medium Tank Battalion (Patton), 246th Armor (Dowagiac)
1st Battle Group, 125th Infantry (Flint)
2nd Battle Group, 125th Infantry (Flint)
1st Battle Group, 126th Infantry (Grand Rapids)
2nd Battle Group, 126th Infantry (Grand Rapids)
1st Battle Group, 225th Infantry (Detroit)
46th Infantry Division Artillery (Detroit)
1st Howitzer Battalion, 119th Artillery (Lansing) – One 105 mm and one 155 mm battery
2nd Howitzer Battalion, 119th Artillery (Lansing) – One 105 mm and one 155 mm battery
3rd Howitzer Battalion, 119th Artillery (Jackson) – One 105 mm and one 155 mm battery
1st Rocket/Howitzer Battalion, 182nd Artillery (Detroit) – One 8-inch Howitzer battery and one Honest John battery
2nd Howitzer Battalion, 182nd Artillery (Detroit) – One 105 mm and one 155 mm battery
3rd Howitzer Battalion, 182nd Artillery (Kingsford) – One 105 mm and one 155 mm battery
After the beginning of the ROAD reorganization the division had a strength of 7,948 on 31 December 1963. It included the following units under the ROAD structure, showing headquarters locations in parentheses:[6]
Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 46th Infantry Division (Lansing)
46th Infantry Division Military Police Company (Flint)
1st Battalion (Towed 105mm), 119th Artillery (Lansing) – three batteries
2nd Battalion (Towed 105mm), 119th Artillery (Jackson) – three batteries
1st Battalion, 182nd Artillery (Detroit) – Three towed 155mm batteries, one 8-inch
2nd Battalion (Towed 105mm), 182nd Artillery (Detroit) – three batteries
3rd Battalion (Honest John), 182nd Artillery (Kingsford) – two batteries
46th Infantry Division Support Command
Headquarters and Headquarters Company (Lansing and Grand Rapids)
46th Infantry Division Band (Grand Rapids)
46th Administration Company (Lansing)
107th Medical Battalion (Detroit)
107th Maintenance Battalion (Lansing)
46th Supply and Transportation Battalion (Midland)
Elimination of the division and 46th Brigade, 38th Infantry Division
The reductions of the Army National Guard, initiated in 1967 by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara who felt that fifteen divisions were too many for a reserve component,[7] reduced the division to the 46th Brigade (formed from the headquarters of the 2nd Brigade at Wyoming, Michigan), which was allocated to the 38th Infantry Division on 1 February 1968.[3] The division headquarters became the Michigan Army National Guard Emergency Operation Headquarters, while the headquarters of the 1st Brigade and that of the 1st Battalion, 225th Infantry became the headquarters of the non-divisional 1st Battalion, 225th Infantry. The headquarters of the 3rd Brigade and that of the 2nd Battalion, 225th Infantry became the headquarters of the non-divisional 46th Engineer Group (Construction), and the headquarters of the 46th Infantry Division Artillery became that of the non-divisional 157th Artillery Group, which included the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 182nd Artillery.[8]
The 46th Brigade gained the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry, the 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry, the 1st Battalion, 246th Armor, and Troop C, 1st Squadron, 238th Cavalry (the former Troop B, 1st Squadron, 146th Cavalry) for its maneuver elements. Its artillery battalion was the 1st Battalion, 119th Artillery, while Company D, 113th Engineer Battalion, Company D, 113th Medical Battalion, Company D (Forward Support), 738th Maintenance Battalion, and the 46th Brigade Administrative Section, 38th Administration Company formed its other support elements.[8]
The 46th Brigade, 38th Infantry Division included the following units in 1970:[9]
As part of United States Army restructuring, the brigade headquarters was eliminated in 2004–2005, with the official inactivation ceremony on 1 October 2004. Its last commander was Colonel William Ewald. At the time, the brigade numbered 1,600 soldiers, and its 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery temporarily transferred to the 177th Military Police Brigade although it would see service with the 42nd Infantry Division during the War on Terror, while most units remained with the 38th Division.[11]
Commanders
Brigadier General Ralph A. Loveland (24 April 1947 – 31 January 1954; promoted to major general 8 June 1948)[12][13][14]
Brigadier General Gordon A. MacDonald (1 February 1954 – 1 November 1959; promoted to major general 1954)[15][12]
^Marquette County, Michigan Obituary and Death Notices Collection (20 March 2001). "Obituary, Leonard C. Ward". Marquette County, Michigan Obituary Collection 21. Genealogybuff.com. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
