Air Defense Artillery Branch (United States Army)
| Air Defense Artillery branch | |
|---|---|
Branch plaque
|
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| Active | 1968-present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | U.S. Army |
| Type | Branch |
| Role | Air and Missile Defense |
| Nickname(s) | Emperor of Battle |
| Motto(s) | "First to Fire" |
| Colors | Red and Gold |
| March | ADA March |
| Mascot(s) | Oozlefinch |
| Anniversaries | 17 November 1775- The Continental Congress elected Henry Knox "Colonel of the Regiment of Artillery" |
| Insignia | |
| Branch insignia |  |
The Air Defense Artillery branch of the US Army specializes in anti-aircraft weapons (such as surface to air missiles). In the US Army, these groups are composed of mainly air defense systems such as the Patriot Missile System, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), and the Avenger Air Defense system which fires the FIM-92 Stinger missile. The Air Defense Artillery branch descended from Anti-Aircraft Artillery (part of the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps until 1950, then part of the Artillery Branch) into a separate branch on 20 June 1968. On 1 December 1968, the ADA branch was authorized to wear modified Artillery insignia, crossed field guns with missile.
According to the Army's Field Manual 44-100, the mission of Air Defense Artillery is "to protect the force and selected geopolitical assets from aerial attack, missile attack, and surveillance."
On 10 October 1917 an Antiaircraft Service in the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) was created at Arnouville-Les-Gonesse where an antiaircraft school was established. The antiaircraft units were organized as serially numbered battalions during the war, as follows:
In 1938 there were only 5 Regular Army and thirteen National Guard regiments, but by 1941 this had been expanded to 37 total regiments. In November 1942, 781 battalions were authorized. However, this number was pared down to 331 battalions by the end of the war. By late 1944 the regiments had been broken up into battalions and 144 "Antiaircraft Artillery Groups" had been activated; some of these existed only briefly.
On 9 March 1942 Antiaircraft Command was established in Washington D.C. and in 1944 the AAA school was moved to Fort Bliss.
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