4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment

4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment
319th Field Artillery Regiment Coat of arms
Active	1917–present
Country	United States
Branch	Army
Type	Airborne field artillery
Garrison/HQ	Grafenwoehr
Equipment	M119A3 howitzer, M777A2 howitzer
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia
4th Battalion unit flash

The 4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment (4-319 FAR) is the field artillery battalion that is part the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Nicknamed "The King of the Herd", 4–319th FAR has participated in battles from World War I to the current day.

The 4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment (4-319th FAR), "King of the Herd," was activated on June 8, 2006 from elements of Battery D, 319th Field Artillery and 1st Battalion, 33d Field Artillery at Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany and assigned to the 173d Airborne Brigade Combat Team (ABCT).

Under the U.S. Army Regimental System, the battalion traces its lineage to Battery D, 319th Field Artillery Regiment, which was originally constituted August 5, 1917 and assigned to the 82nd Division. It was organized and activated September 9, 1917 at Camp Gordon, Georgia and arrived in France in late 1917. The 319th Field Artillery participated in three major campaigns during World War I. At the conclusion of the war, the 82nd Division returned home and was demobilized on May 18, 1919.

The battalion was reorganized and redesignated the 319th Field Artillery Battalion (FAB) in 1942 and was ordered into active federal service on March 25, 1942. As part of this reorganization, Battery D was absorbed into Battery A. On August 15, 1942, the 319th FAB was reorganized and redesignated as the 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion (GFAB). The 319th GFAB participated in all six World War II campaigns of the 82nd Airborne Division, including assault landings in Normandy and the Netherlands. The 319th GFAB was awarded two Presidential Unit Citations and two French Croix de Guerre with palm.

From 1957 until 1964, the reconstituted Battery D, 319th served in the pentomic 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Battery D was inactive from 1964 until 1988, when it was activated in Italy. Then known as "Delta Battery," it provided direct support to the 3rd Airborne Battalion Combat Team, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment; to the 1st Airborne Battalion Combat Team, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment; and finally to the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

Following the March 1991 cease fire, Battery D, 319th Field Artillery deployed with the 3rd Airborne Battalion Combat Team, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment to Turkey and northern Iraq for Operation Provide Comfort.

On 26 March 2003, D/319, as part of 173rd Airborne Brigade, conducted a parachute assault on Bashur Drop Zone in northern Iraq. The battery operated in northern Iraq from March 2003 until February 2004, before re-deploying to Italy.