68th Armor Regiment

Lineage

1st Tank Company

2nd Tank Company

3rd Tank Company

4th Tank Company

5th and 6th Tank Companies

7th Tank Company

Company G, 68th Infantry Regiment (Light Tanks)

Company H, 68th Infantry Regiment (Light Tanks)

Armored regiment

Triangulation

1. Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Company and 2d Battalion as the 68th Tank Battalion and remained assigned to the 6th Armored Division
2. 1st Battalion as the 773d Tank Battalion and relieved from assignment to the 6th Armored Division
3. 3d Battalion as the 15th Tank Battalion and remained assigned to the 6th Armored Division
4. Reconnaissance Company as Troop D, 86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, and remained an element of the 6th Armored Division
5. Maintenance and Service Companies, and Band disbanded.

Troop D, 86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron

15th Tank Battalion

68th Tank Battalion

773rd Tank Battalion

Reconsolidation

1. 68th Tank Battalion relieved 19 July 1945 from assignment to the 6th Armored Division
   Inactivated 29 December 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia
   Redesignated 21 August 1950 as the 68th Medium Tank Battalion and assigned to the 6th Armored Division
   Activated 5 September 1950 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
   Inactivated 16 March 1956 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
   Relieved 1 July 1957 from assignment to the 6th Armored Division.
2. 773d Tank Battalion reorganized and redesignated 27 October 1943 as the 773d Amphibian Tank Battalion
   Reorganized and redesignated 10 January 1944 as the 773d Amphibian Tractor Battalion
   Inactivated 15 April 1946 in Japan
   Redesignated 24 December 1946 as the 56th Amphibian Tractor Battalion
   Redesignated 18 April 1949 as the 56th Amphibious Tank and Tractor Battalion
   Activated 10 May 1949 at Fort Worden, Washington
   Inactivated 15 December 1954 at Fort Worden, Washington
3. 15th Tank Battalion relieved 9 July 1945 from assignment to the 6th Armored Division
   Inactivated 22 February 1946 – 25 February 1946 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.
4. Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 15th Tank Battalion, redesignated 1 August 1946 as 15th Tank Company, and activated at Fort Riley, Kansas
   Inactivated 6 November 1946 at Fort Riley, Kansas
   Activated 1 June 1947 in Italy
   Inactivated 1 December 1949 in Italy
   Redesignated 21 August 1950 as Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 15th Medium Tank Battalion (organic elements of the 15th Tank Battalion redesignated as elements of the 15th Medium Tank Battalion), and assigned to the 6th Armored Division
   Battalion activated 5 September 1950 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
   Inactivated 16 March 1956 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
   Relieved 1 July 1957 from assignment to the 6th Armored Division.
5. Troop D, 86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, inactivated 19 September 1945 at Camp Myles Standish, *Massachusetts
   Redesignated 21 August 1950 as Company D, 86th Reconnaissance Battalion, and remained an element of the 6th Armored Division
   Activated 5 September 1950 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
   Inactivated 16 March 1956 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
   Relieved 1 July 1957 from assignment to the 6th Armored Division.
6. Maintenance and Service Companies, 68th Armored Regiment, reconstituted 1 July 1957 in the Regular Army

Post World War II

Campaign participation credit

1. Saint-Mihiel;
2. Meuse-Argonne

1. Normandy;
2. Northern France;
3. Rhineland;
4. Ardennes-Alsace;
5. Central Europe;
6. Western Pacific (with arrowhead);
7. Ryukyu Islands (with arrowhead)

1. Korea, Summer 1953

Decorations

1. Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) for SAIPAN AND TINIAN

History of the silver lions

The 'Silver Lions" of 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, were the only armor battalion located on Fort Carson, with 48 M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks, 32 Armored Personnel Carriers, Over 50 Tactical Wheeled vehicles, 5 Tracked Maintenance/Recovery vehicles and over 600 personnel. 1–68 Armor had 4 Companies (HHC, A, B, and C), with 14 M1A1 Main Battle Tanks in each Line Company (A, B, and C). To Support the 3 line Companies there was Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), the largest of the four Companies with over 300 personnel. Located in HHC were platoons of Cavalry Reconnaissance, Mortar, Maintenance, Headquarters, Signal, Supply, Intelligence, Cooks, Chemical, Administration and Medics for the Battalion.

Before the Force 21 Concept, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor had 5 companies (HHC, A, B, C and D). On 13 April 2000, A Company was deactivated, turning all 14 tanks to the Mississippi National Guard. D Company was deactivated on 14 April 2000 and re-flagged as A Company, leaving the battalion with the standard four companies, rather than five.

Current organization of 1–68

Upon return from deployment to OIF 1, the 4th Infantry Division immediately began reorganization into the "modular brigade" structure of the new U.S. Army. 4th Infantry Division was again deployed to OIF in late 2005, replacing 3rd ID in Baghdad. The 3rd Brigade was attached to the 101st and the 1–68 was sent to Baqubah, Iraq.

After being reorganized under the modular concept, the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment became known as the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment. HHC, known as Hatchet, with scouts, snipers, mortars, medics and staff positions. Alpha, known as Attack, and Bravo, known as Barbarian, were designated as infantry companies with M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicles. Charlie company known as Chaos, and Delta, known as Destroyer, were set up as tank companies with 14 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks each. Echo Company, known as Exile company, as an engineering company. Fox company, known as Forerunner, was attached from 64th Brigade Support Battalion to provide mess support, maintenance/recovery, and a supply distribution platoon. The final company is Golf Company, which is the rear-detachment company for the battalion when it is deployed.

The battalion's last Iraq deployment was to Basra, as a part of OIF 10–11.