56th Stryker Brigade (Combat Team) HQ (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

 military, National Guard (USA)

56th Stryker Brigade
"The Independence Brigade"

With its headquarters in Philadelphia, the 56th Brigade boasts being home to some of the oldest units in the Armed Forces. Units of the 111th Infantry trace their lineage back to 1747, when Benjamin Franklin first established his famed "Associators" in Philadelphia. The battalions, as well as the brigade, carry battle streamers from nearly every conflict throughout American history.

The 56th Brigade is the only Army National Guard unit to have been selected for transformation into a Stryker Brigade Combat Team. SBCT’s are built around the capabilities of rapid deployability and battlefieldmovement which focuses on the ability to deploy, almost immediately, a lethal modular force, tailored to operational requirements, anywhere in the world. As a Stryker Brigade, the 56th will be mobile, agile and "light."

Units of the 56th Brigade are located across Pennsylvania from Erie to Philadelphia. As part of the transformation, over $150 million will be spent on new construction of readiness centers and maintenance shops. The economic impact of the Stryker Brigade transformation exceeds $1.5 Billion.The 56th Brigade has a strength of about 3,800 soldiers.

Order of battle

1-111th Infantry Battalion (M) (Plymouth Meeting)
1-112th Infantry Battalion (Erie)
2-112th Infantry Battalion (Lewistown)
2-104th Cavalry (RSTA) (Reading)
1-108th Field Artillery (Carlisle)
328th Forward Support Battalion (Lancaster).

Attached sub Battalion Units
D Company (Anti-Tank), 112th Infantry Regiment
856th Engineer Company
656th Signal Company
556th Military Intelligence Company

In September 2005, the 56th SBCT deployed with just a few days notice to Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The 56th was the only combat brigade in the ARNG to deploy in its entirety for this emergency response mission.

www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/28id-56bde....