USAREUR Units - 5th USAAG

CUSTODIAL DET

SUPPORTED UNIT

CTRY

CUSTODIAL DET

SUPPORTED UNIT

CTRY

35th USAAD

26th Fla Rak Btl

357th Arty Det **

520th & 521st BA

42nd USAAD

25th Fla Rak Btl

501st USAAD

23rd Fla Rak Btl

43rd USAAD

13th Msl Wing

507th USAAD

9th Msl Wing

51st USAAD

24th Fla Rak Btl

508th Arty Det

2nd GGW

52nd USAAD

22nd Fla Rak Btl

509th USAAD

1st GGW / 12th GGW

66th USAAD

21st Fla Rak Btl

The 5th Artillery Group
BIG UNIT – BIG HEART

The 5th Artillery Group is the Brigade's largest group, both in the number of service members it has and the number of detachments it contains. It's also the most spread out group, with detachments as far south as Frankfurt and as far north as the cold North Sea.

In all, the group has 10 detachments and one company divided into 30 teams in 31 different locations throughout central and northern Germany.

“Why is it so big?” one might ask. This giant serves as the Brigade's only air defense artillery group, which is different from the land combat groups and ordnance battalions that make up the rest of the 59th organization.

The group has a history dating back to World War II. Activated on Sept. 5, 1942, the 5th is the oldest artillery group in the U.S. Army. It participated in combat in North Africa and Sicily in 1943 and in France and Germany in 1944 and 1945. It also fought in Korea.

The group came to Germany again in 1963 and currently maintains an assigned strength of over 1500 personnel. It provides custodial support, technical support and custodial maintenance for several weapons systems in support of units from the German, Dutch and Belgian Army and Air Force. In so doing, the group works closely with its supported nation counterparts, both in training and in day-to-day operations.

Because the headquarters of the 5th Group's organic detachments support the headquarters of large German, Dutch and Belgian battalions, ample support facilities exist on 5th Group kasernes not found on most NATO installations. These include medical and athletic facilities; movie theaters and saunas; and officers, NCO and enlisted clubs.

The group has had many notable successes in its history, most importantly in its training programs. The 5th Group detachments have a well known history of receiving superior ratings on inspections; and 5th Group soldiers are also known for high scores on their Skills Qualification Test.

The organic units of the 5th Group, in brief:
The Headquarters and Headquarters Company are situated in Bueren (described by one 5th Group soldier as being “just like home”), along with the 27th Ordnance Company. Bueren serves as a subcommunity with a commissary, education center, finance office, all ranks club, post exchange, post office, theater and Stars and Stripes Bookstore. Medical care is available on the Belgian kaserne and in town. For school children, there is an elementary school, with junior and senior high schools in Frankfurt.

The 35th Artillery Detachment is headquartered in Hohenkirchen, about 30 minutes from the beaches of the North Sea. Community support here comes from Bremerhaven. The detachment has four teams; Alpha in Hohenkirchen; Bravo, in Rodenkirchen; Charlie, in Wiesmoor; and Delta, in Dornum.

The 42nd Artillery Detachment, headquartered in Barnstorf, supports the 25th FlaRak (German) Battallion's Nike-Hercules missiles. Situated about 100 miles due south of Bremerhaven, the unit's members take advantage of the sailing, swimming, fishing and wildlife preserves to the southwest of them, near the Duemersee. Alpha Team is colocated with the headquarters, while Bravo Team is 20 kilometers south.

The 43rd Artillery Detachment headquarters, in Dueren, enjoys the best of the nearby cities of Cologne and Aachen. It supports the 13th Belgian Missile Wing and receives community support through the Giessen military community. Alpha Team is colocated with the detachment headquarters while Bravo Team is an hour away from the headquarters in picturesque Kaster; Charlie Team is in Euskirchen and Delta Team in Blankenheim, both less than an hours drive from the headquarters. The detachment sponsors a soccer program for each of its teams.

The 51st Artillery Detachment, headquarters on the northwest corner of the German metropolis of Bremen in Adelheide, is the only detachment in the group without an Alpha or Bravo team; the two split off during a Brigade reorganization. The 51st places great pride in the quality of training of its soldiers. They hold annual military skills competitions among soldiers of similar military accupational specialties. The 51st also operates a free lunch program for American elementary school children in nearby Delmenhorst. The detachment has a Charlie Team in Westerscheps, near Oldenburg, and a Delta Team in nearby Syke, south of Bremen.

The 52nd Artillery Detachment, headquartered in Burbach, is close to the 557th Artillery Group headquarters in Herbornseelbach, and about an hour and a half north of Frankfurt. It receives its community support from Giessen, 50 miles distant.

The 66th Artillery Detachment, headquartered in Buecke, is just a foosball’s toss away from the group headquarters in Bueren, enjoying the convenience of the nearby city of Soest. Although they support the 21st (German) FlaRak Battalion, they have their own kaserne four kilometers east of the headquarters in the heart of a Belgian training area.

The 501st Artillery Detachment, headquartered in Kilianstaetten, sits on the north-east section of Frankfurt and is the groups southernmost unit. It supports the 23rd FlaRak Battalion. The detachment is the most spread out detachment in the Brigade, with four teams scattered over an area the size of Rhode Island. The detachment receives most of its Community support from the Hanau military community and its medical support from Frankfurt. Three of the detachments four teams are located close to major military communities.

The 507th Artillery Detachment, headquartered in Grefrath with its Alpha Team, is close to Duesseldorf and supports the 9th Belgian Missile Wing. Although it ostensibly receives community support from Giessen two and a half hours away, service members of the unit may go to the nearby Schinnen, Netherlands, headquarters for Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT), for exchange and commissary facilities, as well as other community support.

The 509th Artillery Detachment, headquartered in Voerden, 50 miles southwest of Bremen, supports the 12th Netherlands Missile Group. While the colocated headquarters and Alpha Team receive support from the Norddeutschland military community in Bremerhaven, Bravo Team in Schoeppingen and Charlie Team in Borgholzhausen receive their support from the Giessen military community to the south.

Although the 5th Group is the largest group in the Brigade, it gives personal attention to the needs of every soldier, right down to the ones in its 25 man teams. It shows its heart is a big as its numbers are large.

The 5th U.S. Army Artillery Group was constituted in the Army of the United States in September 1942 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 5th Armored Artillery Group. The unit was activated that same month at Camp Young, Calif. The Group was created by taking the Division Artillery Command from the 5th Armored Division and making a separate command. As the first unit of its kind, it was an experiment by the War Department designated to attach a tactical command element to its subordinate battalions. Thus, the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment was attached to the 65th Armored Artillery Division, which became a separate battalion assigned to the group. The command deployed to the African-Middle Eastern Theater, arriving at Casablanca in January 1943. While in Africa, the 5th Group received credit for participation in the Tunisian Campaign. Next up was the invasion of Sicily; the 5th was assigned to II Corps. The group was awarded battle credit for the Sicilian Campaign. At the close of the Sicilian Campaign in August, the unit was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 5th Field Artillery Group. In November 1943, the 5th Group left for the United Kingdom and arrived in Scotland in December. The group remained there until July 1944, when it moved to Normandy and participated in the closing days of that campaign as an element of XX Corps. In the month that followed, 5th Group, now attached to VII Corps, was an integral element of the push across France into Germany. The Headquarters Battery was awarded approximately 100 combat decorations. For service in the European Theater, the 5th Field Artillery Group received credit for five campaigns. The unit returned to the United States and was inactivated at Camp Myles Standish, Mass, in October 1945.

The 5th Field Artillery Group was reactivated in August 1946 at Fort Sill, Okla. The group performed routine training and administration of the post until August 1950 when, after the outbreak of hostilities, the 5th Field Artillery Group was ordered to action in Korea. Arriving in Korea in late September 1950, the 5th Group actively engaged in combat operations. The 5th received battle credit for its participation in the UN Defensive and UN Offensive Campaigns, the 5th Field Artillery Group was awarded an ROK Presidential Unit Citation. Following participation in the Communist Chinese Forces Intervention, the 5th Group was allotted to the regular Army in October 1951.

For action in February 1952, the 5th Field Artillery was awarded a second ROK Presidential Unit Citation. For service during the period December 1952 through April 1953, the 5th Filed Artillery Group received the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

The group was redesigned as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 5th U.S. Army Artillery Group, and it was activated in July 1962 at Fort Sill. In February 1963, the 5th U.S. Army Artillery Group arrived in Germany along with one subordinate unit, the 27th Ordnance Company. The groups new home was established in Bueren.

In March 1963 , the 5th Group was assigned to the 514th U.S. Army Artillery Group. Thus, the 5th assumed command of units providing support to the I Belgian Corps, I British Corps, and Second Allied Tactical Air Force.

On 1 July 1967, the 5th Group was transferred from the 514th U.S. Army Artillery Group to the 548th U.S. Army Artillery Group for administrative control.

In October 1978, the 5th U.S. Army Artillery Group was reorganized as the 59th Ordnance Brigades all-air defense detachment group.

The 1980s saw the reduction of mission requirements and a corresponding inactivation of teams as the user nations withdrew the aging Nike Hercules weapons system from service. The 5th USAAG, along with its subordinate units, was officially inactivated in October 1988.