The 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment’s Combat Service ID badge, or CSIB for short, pays tribute to the Regiment’s home state of Tennessee. Three stars are taken from the Tennessee state flag, where they represent the Grand Divisions of the state: East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and Western Tennessee, and a blue pairle (Y-shape) figure stands for the confluence of the Holston and French Broad Rivers to form the Tennessee River.
Constituted in 1977, the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) was selected in 1996 to become one of a just a handful of Army National Guard units selected to become part of the new ARNG Enhanced Brigades program, instituted after the readiness of several ARNG units designated as “Roundout” brigades was questioned. Only 15 ARNG units were chosen from the program, with the 278th being designated as an enhanced “heavy” separate brigade; all received special planning, training, and equipment to enable them to be combat-ready with 90 to 120 days of a mobilization notice—and with a motto of “I Volunteer, Sir,” the Regiment was and is always poised to answer the call to service.
Today, the 278th ACR is not only one of just two Heavy ACRs, it’s also the only ACR in the Army National Guard. In addition to two squadrons with two tank companies and two mechanized infantry companies each, the Regiment also has an Armored Reconnaissance Squadron (Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Hummers), a Fires Squadrons, and a support squadron.
Related Items
278th Armored Cavalry Regiment Patch (SSI)
278th Armored Cavalry Regiment Unit Crest (DUI)