| Unit Name: | 116th Field Artillery Regiment |
| Dates: | 1898 to present[1] |
| Branch: | Florida Army National Guard |
| Type: | Field Artillery |
| Garrison Label: | Central Florida |
| Nickname: | Gator Red Legs |
| Motto: | VESTIGIA NULLA RETRORSUM ("There Is No Going Back") |
| Battle Honours: | |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Distinctive unit insignia |
The 116th Field Artillery is a regiment of the Florida Army National Guard. Currently there are two battalions; 2-116th FA is fires battalion for the 53rd Brigade Combat Team, and 3-116th (HIMARS) is part of the 164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, both of the Florida Army National Guard.
The regiment was originally organized as the 1st Florida Infantry during the Spanish–American War in 1898. During the First World War at Camp Wheeler, Georgia from 1 October 1917 through 1 November 1917, the 1st Florida Infantry was combined with other units from Alabama and Georgia to create the 116th Field Artillery, part of the 31st ("Dixie") Division. It consisted of the battalion headquarters and Batteries B and C from the 1st Battalion, Georgia Field Artillery, 4 officers and 99 men from the 1st Florida Infantry Regiment, Troops A, D, G, H, I, and the Supply Troop from the 1st Alabama Cavalry Regiment, and the Band from the 2nd Alabama Infantry Regiment. Although transported overseas, it saw no combat action and was mustered out of federal service on January 16, 1919.
On December 5, 1921 Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr., of Tampa, Florida, upon commission issued by the Adjutant General of the State of Florida, presented for federal recognition three batteries to constitute units of a regiment to be known as the 116th Field Artillery. Thus, on December 5, 1921, three firing batteries, A, B, and C, formed the basis of the First Battalion, 116th Field Artillery, Major Sumter L. Lowry Jr. commanding. The battalion was inspected and mustered into service by then-Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Collins, Adjutant General of Florida. Completion of the First Battalion was effected on February 15, 1922, with the establishment of the Headquarters Battery and Combat Train. In 1922, the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County furnished land and funds for the construction of stables, gunsheds, and armory buildings.
An expansive movement was made for the establishment of a full regiment by the founding of the Second Battalion. Firing batteries D, E, and F were located at Lakeland, Plant City, and Arcadia, with the Headquarters Battery and Combat Train of the Second Battalion in Bartow. The Second Battalion participated in the summer encampment in 1923, and was federally recognized as a unit on August 23, 1923, with Major Fred Hampton commanding. The regiment received federal recognition at Tampa on January 20, 1924.
Ultimately, the subordinate units of the 2nd Battalion, 116th Field Artillery were re-designated and relocated in some cases in different cities: HQ Battery – Lakeland. Battery A – Bartow. Battery B – Dade City. Battery C – Ocala. Service Battery – Haines City.
On July 16, 1933, the regiment was converted from horse-drawn to truck-drawn.[2]
The regiment performed hurricane relief duties at Tampa and Moore Haven, Florida, from 16 September to 7 November 1926. The regiment, less two batteries, was used for riot control duties in connection with the protection of prisoners at the Hillsborough County Jail in Tampa, from 31 May to 6 June 1927. The entire regiment was used for duties associated with the Mediterranean Fruit Fly quarantine in July 1929. The 2nd Battalion performed hurricane relief duties at Palm Beach and Okeechobee from 17 September to 4 November 1928. The entire regiment was used for riot control duties in connection with elections in Tampa in September 1935. Several batteries were used for guard duties in connection with the visit of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Winter Park, Florida, on 31 March 1936.
| Unit | Location | Federally recognized | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Tampa | 20 January 1924 | ||
| Medical Department Detachment | Tampa | 6 October 1922 | ||
| Headquarters Battery | 13 January 1937 | Originally recognized as 118th Ambulance Company, 106th Medical Regiment, 15 April 1936; redesignated Company F, 106th Medical Regiment, 1 January 1937; redesignated Headquarters Battery, 116th Field Artillery, 13 January 1937 | ||
| Service Battery (less Band Section) | 1 April 1937 | Originally recognized as Battery F, 116th Field Artillery, 19 September 1923; redesignated Service Battery (less Band Section), 116th Field Artillery, 1 April 1937 | ||
| Headquarters, 1st Battalion | Tampa | 15 February 1922 | ||
| Headquarters Battery and Combat Train, 1st Battalion | Tampa | 15 February 1922 | ||
| Battery A | Tampa | 5 December 1921 | ||
| Battery B | Tampa | 5 December 1921 | ||
| Battery C | Tampa | 5 December 1921 | ||
| Headquarters, 2nd Battalion | 21 March 1924 | |||
| Headquarters Battery and Combat Train, 2nd Battalion | 21 August 1923 | |||
| Battery D | 10 October 1923 | |||
| Battery E | 15 August 1923 | |||
| Battery F | 1 April 1937 | Originally recognized as Service Battery (less Band Section), 116th Field Artillery, 29 August 1923; redesignated Battery F, 116th Field Artillery, 1 April 1937 |
The 2nd Battalion, 116th Field Artillery has seen service in Iraq and Afghanistan and served in Homestead, Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew.
Headquarters disbanded
1st and 2d Battalions as the 116th and 149th Field Artillery Battalions, elements of the 31st Infantry Division (remainder of regiment—hereafter separate lineages)
Headquarters Battery (Lakeland), 2d Battalion, additionally entitled to:
| Ribbon | Award | Streamer embroidered | Order No. | Unit Awarded | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meritorious Unit Commendation | Afghanistan 10 July 2005 to 7 July 2006 | Army General Orders 2018–23, dated 6 September 2018[5] | 2d Battalion, 116th Field Artillery | ||
| Meritorious Unit Commendation | Iraq 2005 to 2006 | AAMH-FPO Memorandum, dated 27 August 2008[6] | 3d Battalion, 116th Field Artillery | ||
| Philippine Presidential Unit Citation | 17 October 1944 to 4 July 1945 | Department of the Army General Orders 47-1950 | 116th Field Artillery and 149th Field Artillery Battalions |