The 261st Medical Battalion is a Multifunctional Medical Battalion of the US Army located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, under the command and control of the 44th Medical Brigade. It provides a flexible and modular medical battle command, administrative assistance, logistical support, and technical supervision capability for assigned and attached medical organizations (companies and detachments), which can be task-organized to support deployed forces.
Command Group Commander: LTC Frank G. Cicchini Command Sergeant Major: CSM Ryan. F O'Connell Executive Officer: MAJ Dana Messer
Commanders Rank Name Branch Dates 1LT Howard F. Conn MC 15 June 1942 – 30 June 1942CPTEdward L. Tuckey MC 30 June 1942 – 17 July 1942LTCMerle E. SmithMC17 July 1942 – November 1944MAJDaniel I. DannMC November 1944 – 28 January 1945
Rank Name Branch Dates LTC Edgar B. "Butch" Murphy MS 16 September 1992 – 12 July 1994LTC Phil Navin MS 12 July 1994 – July 1996LTC Gary L. Sadlon MS July 1996 – 24 July 1998Change of Command Program, 261st Area Support Medical Battalion, 24 July 1998LTC Timothy D. Gordon MS 24 July 1998 – 12 July 2000LTC J. Cole Slattery MS 12 July 2000 – 12 July 2002LTC Robert D. Tenhet MS 12 July 2002 – July 2004LTC William C. Terry MS July 2004 – 2006LTC Frank L. Christopher MC 2006 – February 2009LTC R. Scott Dingle MS February 2009 – March 2010LTC Myron B. McDaniels MC March 2010 – March 2012LTC Heather A. Kness MS March 2012 – 10 June 2014LTC Jamie D. Burk AN 10 June 2014 – 10 June 2016LTC J. Aric Bowman MS 10 June 2016 – 11 May 2018LTC Kevin Kelly MC 11 May 2018 – 9 June 2020LTC Benjamin P. Donham MC 9 June 2020 – 7 June 2022LTCChristina B. RumayorMC7 June 2022 – 2024
Lineage and honors Constituted 12 June 1942 in the Regular Army as the 261st Medical Battalion Activated 15 June 1942 at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts Disbanded on 28 January 1945, in France. Reconstituted 1 October 1991 in the Regular Army Activated 16 September 1992 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina Reorganized 16 August 2002 to consist of Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 261st Medical Battalion (organic elements concurrently inactivated)
Campaign participation credit
World War II:
Sicily (with Arrowhead) Naples-Foggia Rome-Arno Normandy (with Arrowhead) Northern France
The War on Terrorism in Iraq:
Iraqi Governance National Resolution Iraqi Surge Additional Campaigns to be determined
Decorations Presidential Unit Citation (Army), streamer embroidered NORMANDY Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for: Iraq 2005 Iraq 2007–2008 Iraq 2010–2011
French Croix de Guerre With Palm, World War II, streamer embroidered NORMANDY BEACHES
Distinctive unit insignia
Description/Blazon: A Silver color metal and enamel device in width overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Per pale and per chevron Argent and Sanguine, a fleur-de-lis counterchanged. Attached below the shield, a tripartite Silver scroll inscribed "PROUD TO TRAIN AND SAVE" in Maroon letters.
Symbolism: Maroon and white (Argent) are colors traditionally associated with the Medical Corps. World War II service in France and Italy is represented by the fleur-de-lis and chevron respectively, the last also referring to the assaults in Normandy and suggesting the terrain of Naples and Rome's locales where the unit saw service. The significance of participation in two major landings is denoted by the shield's palewise division and counterchange. The fleur-de-lis further symbolizes the French Croix de Guerre's special honor and the Presidential Unit Citation for action in Normandy.
Background: The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 8 July 1992.
Coat of arms
Description/Blazon of Shield: Per pale and per chevron Argent and Sanguine, a fleur-de-lis counterchanged.
Crest: From a wreath of the colors, Argent and Sanguine, a wreath of laurel Proper surmounted by an arm in armor, gauntleted; grasping a serpent entwined Gules.
Motto: PROUD TO TRAIN AND SAVE.
Symbolism of Shield: Maroon and white are colors traditionally associated with the Medical Corps. World War II service in France and Italy is represented by the fleur-de-lis and chevron respectively, the last also referring to the assaults in Normandy and suggesting the terrain of Naples and Rome's locales where the unit saw service. The significance of the participation in two major landings is denoted by the palewise division and counterchange of the shield. The fleur-de-lis further symbolizes the French Croix de Guerre's special honor and the Presidential Unit Citation for action in Normandy.
Crest: The colors red, white and green represent Italy. The laurel wreath symbolizes the honors earned by the battalion during World War II service in Europe and the upraised fist signifying victory and the service credits won while fulfilling the mission of medical care to the United States personnel. The serpent, an ancient symbol of medicine, refers to the mission. The arrowed first denotes strength and the resolve to protect military personnel in wartime. Red stands for courage and sacrifice, white for integrity, and green for health.
The coat of arms was approved on 8 July 1992.
History World War II Activation and Early Operations
The 261st Medical Battalion was activated on 15 June 1942 at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts under the Engineer Amphibian Command. 1LT Howard F. Conn assumed command the same day. On 30 June 1942, Captain Edward L. Tucker was transferred from the 54th Medical Battalion and assumed command per General Order 1, 261st Medical Battalion, replacing 1LT Conn. On 4 July, a cadre of 219 enlisted men were transferred from the 54th Medical Battalion, with Company A of the 54th Medical Battalion forming Company A of the 261st; Company C of the 54th forming Company B of the 261st, and Company D of the 54th forming Company C of the 261st. Staff for the battalion Headquarters Detachment were drawn from the newly formed companies. This was a transfer of personnel and equipment to cadre the new battalion, and there is no linkage between the lineage of the two battalions. Major Earle E. Smith was transferred from Headquarters, Engineering Amphibious Command and assumed command of the battalion on 17 July 1942. He would remain in command until November 1944 when, as a Lieutenant Colonel, he would be transferred to the Headquarters of the Utah District, Normandy Base Section, and Major Daniel I Dann assumed Command, remaining in command until the battalion was disbanded on 28 January 1945.
A month after the original cadre arrived, the battalion left for the port of embarkation, New York. On 6 August they sailed for the British Isles. The majority of their soldiers had been in the Army less than six months, and the majority of their officers on active duty less than one month. There were many changes during the early days at Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. Because the battalion's equipment did not reach them in time, they were unable to make the North African landing with the 1st Engineer Amphibian Brigade. In early December the battalion moved to a staging area at Birkenhead, England. On 8 January 1943, they sailed for North Africa, and located at Arzew, Algeria. Upon arrival in Algeria, the three medical companies rotated among the three most important activities.
1. The battalion had assigned and borrowed a total of 72 ambulances. The battalion ran an ambulance service to the various US Army Hospitals for patients arriving at La Senia Airport, Oran, from the Tunisian Front, and also carrying patients from hospitals to the Port of Oran for embarkation.
2. The battalion operated a Clearing Station Hospital in Arzew with a capacity of 100 patients. They rendered dispensary and dental care to units in the environs on an area support basis.
3. The battalion trained at the Fifth Army Training Center at Port Aux Poules. Invasion exercises and tactics were stressed.
Sicily and Italy
On 11 July 1943, the majority of the battalion's men and equipment landed at Gela, Sicily, to handle the casualties and evacuation of the 1st Engineer Special Brigade Beachhead, over which the 1st Infantry Division had made the assault landing. The casualties were relatively heavy in this particular sector. However, the presence of the 1st Medical Battalion's Clearing Company, the 51st Provisional Collecting-Clearing Company (composed of a clearing platoon from a clearing company and a collecting platoon from a collecting company), and the 2nd Armored Division Medical units in addition to the 261st provided adequate care. Following the beachhead phase the three companies ran small hospitals, each holding up to 150 patients. They were located at Agrigento, Gela, and Licata. On 19 August the battalion was alerted for an immediate move to Bizerte for assignment to Fifth Army for what was later discovered to be the landing at Salerno, Italy, on 9 September. The order was cancelled two days later and the battalion remained in Sicily in bivouac. Up until the time of the alert the three companies admitted 3961 patients constituting a total of 9201 patient-days of treatment. During this period the Headquarters Detachment maintained a continual trucking service, first carrying supplies to the front line companies, and later transporting medical supplies from Licata to Palermo, Sicily.
On 19 October 1943, the battalion sailed for Italy and on 24 October set up bivouac at Caserta. Except for some dispensary and evacuation work the battalion saw minimal activity. After turning in most of the battalion's equipment they sailed for Naples on 18 November and proceeded to the British Isles. There, the battalion was garrisoned at Truro, Cornwall, England, on 12 December 1943. From this time until the Normandy Invasion on 6 June 1944, the battalion devoted their efforts to organizing, planning and training for the coming invasion of France.
Normandy and Beyond
All the training and experience acquired by the 261st Medical Battalion in its operations prepared it for its most important mission, the handling of casualties and evacuation on Utah Beach, Normandy, France.
On 12 April 1944, Companies A and B took part in a special problem called "Splint". It was run off in conjunction with the medical group of the 2nd Naval Beach Battalion and the 531st Engineer Shore Regiment, 1st Engineer Special Brigade. The exercise was supervised by Colonel James L. Snyder, MC, Executive Office to the Surgeon, First United States Army. This maneuver was considered very important by the Allied High Command with regard to the evacuation of casualties on the coming invasion. 200 troops were used as simulated casualties. All phases of casualty handling from the time of admission to the reception of patients aboard ships were demonstrated. The problem was run before a large delegation of ranking officers of both the United States and British Armies and Navies. The results clearly demonstrated that large numbers of casualties could be evacuated off a beach without disturbance to the other functions of the beach. The 261st's companies gained more practical value from this exercise than any other because they had available a large number of men to use as simulated casualties. Most previous exercises had only given them experience in movement of men and equipment and the setting up of a bivouac and collecting station.