Army no longer needed a large standing army and both the 101st Airborne Division and the 81st Anti-Aircraft and Anti-Tank Battalion were inactivated. For its contributions and sacrifices in the European Theatre of Operations, the Battalion earned two Presidential Unit Citations, the French Croix d’ Guerre, two Belgian Croix d’ Guerre, the Belgian Fourragere, and the Netherlands Orange Lanyard. Dur
ing the past 60 years, 2-44 ADA has undergone numerous designation changes living up to its motto ”Per Ardua”, or “Through Difficulty”. The 1960s and 1970s proved especially difficult as the U.S. Army developed its SHORAD program.
1971 saw 5th Battalion, 562nd Air Defense Artillery briefly activated at Fort Campbell as a provisional unit until 1-3 ADA could complete its training. On December 4th, 1972, the 1st Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery was activated at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and joined the “Screaming Eagle” team. 1-3 ADA, originally formed in 1798, remains one of the oldest units to ever serve on Fort Campbell bringing with it 43 campaign streamers dating back to the War of 1812. The new Battalion was organized into platoons mixed with both Redeye missiles and towed Vulcan air defense guns. These platoons, nicknamed “Strike Platoons”, added a tremendous low-level air defense capability to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). It is from these “Strike Platoons” that the Battalion derives its current “Strike Fear” nickname. By 1983, the older Redeye missile was replaced with the highly effective and lethal Stinger missile system. On March 16th, 1988, the 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery was activated at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The Battalion would not have to wait long for its first baptism of fire. In 1991, during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Charlie Battery participated in the largest and deepest Air Assault operation at the time in support of the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). Always adapting to new situations and new technical advances, 2-44 ADA retired its trusty, but outdated, Vulcan systems in 1993 in order to field the much more effective Avenger system. 1995 saw the activation of a fourth firing battery, D/2-44 ADA, to provide air defense coverage in a general support role. In 2003, the unit continued its “Rendezvous with Destiny”, returning to the region to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and providing SHORAD coverage during the combat phase of operations. The battalion also secured critical bridges and road junctions during ground combat in Najaf, Karbala, and Al Hillah. In meeting diverse mission requirements throughout the region, 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, secured the 4th Infantry Division’s (Mechanized) ground routes through Baghdad using a series of well positioned and heavily armored Traffic Control Points. Strike Fear troopers maintained the route to perfection and significantly aided the 4th Infantry Division as it moved through a potentially hostile, major metropolitan area of several million civilians. Furthermore, during Stability and Support Operations, the battalion was responsible for training 4,500 Iraqi Civil Defense Corps soldiers while performing thousands of convoy escorts and community projects to help rebuild Iraq. On 16 September 2004, 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery was formally relieved from assignment to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and assigned to the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade (Airborne) in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. With Avengers and Sentinel Radars as the battalion’s primary weapon systems, the battalion continued to provide United States forces with the most lethal and sophisticated Short Range Air Defense assets in the world. In April 2008, 2d Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment once again deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 07-09, this time providing air defense against enemy rockets, artillery and mortar (RAM). Although not its primary weapon system, the battalion quickly transitioned to employing the Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar weapons systems and intercepted multiple RAM munitions to ensure the safety of Soldiers and civilians throughout the greater Baghdad metropolitan area. In April 2010, 2d Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery received a short notice FORSCOM order to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan. . Once again, the battalion quickly transitioned, transformed and trained for its next “Rendezvous with Destiny” where it performed a non-standard Air Defense Artillery mission. This time, 2-44 ADA deployed to 37 locations throughout all six regional commands in Afghanistan to train and advise the Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army. During this deployment, Strike Fear Soldiers trained over 30,000 Afghan National Security Forces, and successfully issued over $1.5 Billion worth of uniforms, weapons, fuel, and tactical vehicles to the Afghan National Security Forces. In addition, the battalion contributed immeasurably to the development of the Afghan Civil Order Police HQ and the Afghan Medical and Logistics Commands. Like our proud lineage, the Soldiers and Leaders of “the Strike Fear battalion” are adaptive, flexible and stand committed to the Nation’s call. 2-44 ADA re-refined the expectations of the mentor and advisory mission and enabled NTM-A to significantly advance its strategic goals.
