Oregon Army National Guard


The Oregon Army National Guard is a federally mandated and equipped military organization under the civilian direction of the Oregon Military Department, with the Governor of Oregon as its Commander-in-Chief. It responds to state and national emergencies, military conflicts and natural disasters, and conducts search and rescue operations. While the history of the militia dates back to the establishment of the first Oregon militia in 1843, the present Guard was not established until after 1903. The modern Guard includes citizen soldiers, and its motto is "When we are needed, we are there."
The Oregon Army National Guard has 41 armories in 33 communities.
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History

Oregon Army National Guard soldiers have been deployed to Afghanistan, ranging from 9 months to more than a year. Some provided security in Afghanistan during the drawdown of troops. Others with an engineer battalion worked on soldier housing in Kuwait and U.S. military facilities in Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Historic units

  • 82nd Armor
  • 162nd Infantry Regiment
  • 186th Infantry Regiment
  • 218th Field Artillery Regiment – Perpetuated the Portland Light Artillery Battery organized in 1866, Oregon's oldest continuously active National Guard unit and the oldest continuously active National Guard unit west of the Mississippi. Split into 218th and 2nd Battalion, 204th Field Artillery 1942; the latter became the 965th Field Artillery Battalion in 1943.
  • 249th Coast Artillery Regiment – Split into 171st and 249th Coast Artillery Battalions 18 October 1944 during World War II.
  • 1st Battalion, 249th Infantry – HHD Newberg, separate TOW battalion.
  • 641st Military Intelligence Battalion In 1982 the 1042nd Military Intelligence Comapny was reorganized and redesignated as the 641st Military Intelligence Battalion. It became a Combat Electronic Warfare and Intelligence battalion in 1985. The battalion is not listed in the 1996 unit listings in Army Lineage Series - Military Intelligence which suggests that it had been disestablished by that date.
  • 641st Medical Battalion
  • 741st Corps Support Battalion
  • 249th Artillery Group
  • * 1st Automatic Weapons Battalion, 249th Artillery – Converted to 2nd Battalion, 303rd Armor 1963, consolidated with 2nd Battalion, 186th Infantry to become 3rd Squadron, 163rd Armored Cavalry
  • * 2nd Automatic Weapons Battalion, 249th Artillery
  • * 3rd Gun Battalion, 249th Artillery – Reorganized as 3rd Automatic Weapons Battalion, 249th Artillery 1961, then 3rd Battalion, 249th Artillery 1965, converted to 1249th Engineer Battalion 1971
  • 162nd Engineer Battalion
  • 218th Field Artillery Battalion – Continued lineage of World War II 218th Field Artillery Battalion, formed after the 218th Field Artillery was split. Lineage continued by 218th Artillery 1959.
  • 965th Field Artillery Battalion – Continued lineage of World War II 965th Field Artillery Battalion, formed after the 218th Field Artillery was split. Lineage continued by 218th Artillery 1959.
  • 237th Antiaircraft Artillery Group
  • * 722nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion – Previously 249th Coast Artillery Battalion and 1st Battalion, 249th Coast Artillery. Redesignated as 722nd Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion 10 July 1946, reorganized and Federally recognized 31 January 1950 with HHC Portland and batteries at Portland, Redmond, Gresham and Salem. Reorganized and redesignated 16 July 1951 as 722nd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, redesignated 1 October 1953 as 722nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion due to conversion to M51 Skysweeper. Lineage of unit perpetuated by 249th Artillery 1 April 1959 under Combat Arms Regimental System during Pentomic reorganization.
  • * 732nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion – Previously 171st Coast Artillery Battalion and elements of the 249th Coast Artillery Regiment. Redesignated as 965th Field Artillery Battalion 10 July 1946, reorganized and Federally recognized with HQ Klamath Falls 13 November 1947. Redesignated as 732nd Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion, a unit originally allocated to Portland but never activated, 1 February 1949; a new 965th activated at Portland. HQ location changed to Ashland 12 May 1949. Reorganized and redesignated 16 July 1951 as 732nd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, redesignated 1 October 1953 as 732nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion due to conversion to M51 Skysweeper. Consolidated into 249th Artillery under Combat Arms Regimental System during Pentomic reorganization 1 April 1959.
  • 3670th Ordnance Company – Organized 1947 at Portland, location changed to Camp Withycombe, Clackamas 1948. Redesignated 3670th Maintenance Company 1968, inactivated 2018.
  • 110th Signal Company – Salem, became 1210th Transportation Company 1968.

Units in January 2026

As of January 2026 the Oregon Army National Guard consists of the following units:Joint Force Headquarters-Oregon, Army Element, in Salem

In popular culture