79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)

79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1917 – 19, 1921 - 42, 2008 – present
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Brigade
Part of	40th Infantry Division
Garrison/HQ	San Diego, California (HQ)
Nickname(s)	"The Ol' Gatorade Brigade"
Motto(s)	Dominate the Fight
Engagements	World War I Battle of Saint-Mihiel Meuse-Argonne Offensive World War II Central Pacific Northern Solomons Bismark Archipelago Leyte Southern Philippines War on Terrorism Afghanistan
Decorations	Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Nick Ducich
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

World War I

World War II

War on Terrorism

The 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is an infantry brigade of the United States Army and the California Army National Guard. In late 2008, the 40th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was redesignated as the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team without changing its composition.

Elements of the brigade can trace back their lineage to October 1881 when the San Diego City Guard was established, which later became the 251st Coast Artillery Regiment. The 79th Infantry Brigade was originally made up of the 157th and 158th Infantry Regiments (CO, AZ Army National Guard) and served as part of the 40th Division from Aug 1917-Apr 1919. From 1921-1942, it was exclusively made up of California Army National Guard personnel, the 159th and 184th Infantry Regiments. Its insignia reflected the three states that originally made up the 40th Division.

In February 1942, the 40th Infantry Division was reorganized from a 'square', two-brigade, four-regiment division to a three-regiment division without any intermediate brigade headquarters. Thus the 79th and 80th Infantry Brigade were deactivated.