At one time, the 59th Ordnance Brigade was the largest brigade in the U.S. Army. The 59th covered 95,000 square miles from the border of Denmark, south to Switzerland, west into the Netherlands and spread throughout western Germany with over 7,000 soldiers.

The soldiers within the 59th came from a wide variety of different occupations. The vast majority of soldiers were artillery, ordnance and military police, however, several support occupations were included to fill out this well-rounded brigade.

One word stands out when describing the 59th Ordnance Brigade. Unique.

Unique in that this command successfully meshed three Army branches, the ordnance, artillery and military police corps, and performed a mission that came to be known as the backbone of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Unique in that nearly one half of the personnel assigned to the command lived and worked on installations throughout Germany, which were maintained by Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

The Headquarters Support Battalion was organized as the Special Troops Battalion on October 1979, to command and control the four separate units assigned to the 59th Ordnance Brigade: Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 165th Signal Company, 22nd Aviation Detachment, and the U.S. Permissive Action Link Detachment. These units provided the brigade headquarters with administrative, logistical, communications, transportation, and classified support.

In May 1983, the Special Troops Battalion was redesignated Theater Support Battalion (Provisional). The Headquarters Commandant was formed the following month to assume the support mission responsibility. The four units were attached to the Headquarters Commandant for administrative and logistical purposes.

In the spring of 1984, Headquarters Commandant was redesignated as Headquarters Command. In August of that same year, Headquarters Support Battalion was created and it assumed provisional status in February 1985.

Finally, in October 1985, Headquarters Support Battalion was activated with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 165th Signal Company, 22nd Aviation Detachment and the PAL Detachment under its control. The Headquarters Support Battalion is scheduled to inactivate in September 1992.

Headquarters and Headquarters Company
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 59th Ordnance Brigade was constituted and activated in the U.S. Army in 1943 as

One Of A Kind

The 3rd Ordnance Battalion is a one of a kind unit.

It is the only battalion in the U.S. Army with a general support missile maintenance mission. Its units have the unique advantage, at least as far as the 59th is concerned, of being in or very close to military communities.

The 3rd is also a notable battalion in that it sends its servicemembers to far away places such as Crete (Greece), Italy, Berlin, Grafenwoehr, and Garlstedt in Germany for support of missile firings.

A former 3rd Ord commander once remarked that the average soldier in his battalion was "not only very technically oriented but also liked to get out and enjoy the attractions of Germany".

The 3rd Ordnance Battalion has a wide ranging mission. It provides general support and some direct support maintenance for every type of missile system the Army uses in NATO: Hawk, Nike-Hercules, Pershing, Chapparral, Redeye, Stinger, Lance, Tow, Dragon, Shillelagh, Vulcan gun system and Forward Area Alerting Radar (FAAR).

Although the 3rd's mission is centered around missile maintenance, it has a wide variety of jobs within its ranks with over 68 MOS's among its 942 members.

A little history: The 3rd began as an automotive support unit in the Pacific theatre during World War II (note the cog and palm tree on its crest) and was deactivated after the war. During the Vietnam conflict the 3rd Ord served as a conventional ammunition battalion until its deactivation in April 1972.

2nd U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment
The 2nd U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment was organized and activated at Fort Sill, Okla. in September 1962 as the 2nd U.S. Army Missile Detachment. In January 1963, the detachment moved to Germany and was assigned to the 512th U.S. Army Artillery Group. The detachment was inactivated in June 1991.

24th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment
The 24th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment was organized and activated in January 1961 as the 24th U.S. Army Missile Detachment at Fort Sill, Okla. Upon arrival in Europe in July 1961, the detachment was assigned to the 548th U.S. Army Artillery Group and then to the 512th U.S. Army Field Artillery Group in July 1962. The detachment was inactivated in May 1992.

36th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment
The 36th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment was organized and activated in October 1959 at Fort Sill, Okla. as the 36th U.S. Army Missile Detachment. Upon completion of training, the 36th Detachment moved to Germany in 1960. The unit was assigned to SASCOM upon its organization. The detachment was further assigned to the 548th U.S. Army Artillery Group and then to the 512th U.S. Army Artillery Group in July 1962. The unit was inactivated in May 1992.

74th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment
The 74th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment was organized and activated in April 1965 at Fort Sill, Okla. as the 74th U.S. Army Missile Detachment. The detachment moved to Germany in June 1966 and was assigned to the 512th U.S. Army Artillery Group in support of the German Air Force's 1st Surface-to-Surface Missile Wing.

In January 1971, the two U.S. missile detachments assigned to the 512th, the 74th and 82nd U.S. Army Missile Detachments, were combined. The 82nd was merged with the 74th and redesignated as the 74th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment. The 82nd had supported the 1st SSMW from November 1969 until January 1971, and was the first U.S. Army unit to receive a unit to unit streamer from the German Air Force.

Since its deployment in 1966 the 74th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment had provided continuous support of its strategic NATO mission along with the 1st SSMW. In 1990 the 74th and the 1st SSMW close working relationship was recognized with the USAREUR Partnership award.

The 514th arrived in Europe in October 1944 and received credit for participating in four campaigns.

In August 1945, the 514th returned to the United States where it was inactivated in February 1946.

In September 1948, the 514th Battalion was redesignated as the 958th Field Artillery Rocket Battalion and allotted to the Organized Reserve Corps. The battalion was active from September 1948 through August 1950 at Fresno, Calif.

In March 1952, the 958th Field Artillery Rocket Battalion was redesignated as the 514th Field Artillery Battalion and it was allotted to to the Regular Army later that year.

Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 514th Field Artillery Battalion, was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 514th US Army Field Artillery Group in May 1961.

Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 548th Field Artillery Battalion was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquaters Detachment, 548th US Army Artillery Group in May 1961. The 548th US Army Artillery Group (Provisional) was organized and assigned to the Special Ammunition Support Command in August 1961.

In October 1961, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 548th US Army Artillery Group was (officially) activated and assigned to SASCOM.