The Special Troops Battalion, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was a support battalion created on 15 September 2004 as part of the U.S. Army's brigade realignment plan to transform brigades into units of action (UA). Companies from the 326th Engineer Battalion, 311th Military Intelligence Battalion, 501st Signal Battalion, and the 3d Platoon of the 101st Military Police Company were pulled together to form the STB. The integration of one or more support battalions into each brigade allows brigades to be self-sustaining and they no longer need to deploy with the entire division in order to utilize division assets.
Contents
The battalion mottoes "Rak Solid Rakkasans" and "Belong to the Warrior" are statements of the battalion's support and loyalty to the 187th Infantry Regiment, which had its 1st, 2d and 3d Battalions assigned to the 3d BCT.
Units
The Special Troops Battalion comprised the following companies:
History
Activated in late 2004, the Special Troops Battalion headed the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) in early February 2005 for training maneuvers with the Rakkasans. Upon redeployment to Fort Campbell, the unit spent the next six months training and preparing for a deployment to Iraq. In late September 2005, the STB deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom IV. After staging in Kuwait for additional training and awaiting movement to Iraq, the elements of the STB moved in country to begin a year-long tour. After relieving the Tennessee National Guard and training and awaiting equipment, the unit headed to Bayji, Iraq and conducted operations in that area of operations (AO). In late December 2005, the STB split up, with Alpha Company heading to Samarra to support 3d Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment. Bravo, Charlie, and HHC headed to the Tikrit AO to support the 101st Airborne Division elements stationed there. In early September 2006, the STB regrouped in Kuwait and redeployed to Fort Campbell, completing their year-long deployment to Iraq. After extensive predeployment training and a second JRTC rotation, the battalion headed to theater in late September 2007 to begin their second tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They were deployed to Baghdad,Iraq for 15 months. The battalion inactivated on April 15, 2014 and was reorganized and reflagged as the 21st Engineer Battalion.
Chain of command
As of August 2011, the STB was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Walter Smiley with Command Sergeant Major Carlos Simmons as battalion Command Sergeant Major.