Talk:6th Infantry Division (United States)

Content Use

Who ever created this article copied the text word-for-word from the Center for Military History site (http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/lineage/cc/cc.htm), hopefully it was the same author at that site? If not, at some point someone needs to write some original content. WikiDon

Work of the United States Government is public domain, so--legally--there's no problem:

1. CMH Online is provided as a public service by the U.S. Army Center of Military History.
2. Information presented on CMH Online is considered public information and may be distributed or copied for non-commerical purposes. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested.[3]

—wwoods 21:33, 9 May 2005 (UTC)

• COOL! WikiDon

Thanks to whoever added the "Post War" section here. That period of the 6th ID's service is more commonly (and properly) known as Cold War. I have additional sources for information from that period and will add. Derek Balsam 01:07, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

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Cold War era section additions

The following is the cold ward section with a bit added by an IP (someone without a signon). It appears to be primarily from WP:PRIMARY sources and is a bit of a jumble. I leave it here in case someone can make it more article worthy. --John (User:Jwy/talk) 03:08, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

The 6th Division was reactivated 4 October 1950 at Fort Ord, California. There the division remained throughout the Korean War, training troops and providing personnel for combat, but was never deployed overseas as an entity itself and was again inactivated on 3 April 1956.

In the American build-up during the Vietnam War the division was activated in 1967 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and later a forward brigade was located in Hawaii. There was sentiment against sending the division to Vietnam because its shoulder sleeve insignia invited a derisive nickname ("Commie Jew Division") that General Westmoreland, cognizant of troop morale problems, considered too offensive, and the decision was made instead to form the Americal Division (23rd Infantry Division), with less offensive insignia, in Vietnam itself. During June 1968 the US Joint Chiefs of Staff also declared the 6th Infantry Division unsuitable for combatant deployment because it flunked its readiness report, and shortly thereafter the division was terminated on 25 July 1968.

The last incarnation of the division came on 16 October 1986 at Fort Richardson, Alaska when the assets of the 172nd Infantry Brigade were used to reactivate the 6th Infantry Division (Light). Over the next seven years the 6th was the U.S. Army’s primary Arctic warfare division. In 1988, 6th Signal Battalion, moved into the building at 602 Richardson Drive, on Fort Richardson Alaska, repurposing it from an indoor firing range to a multi-use facility including barracks, recreation rooms, chow hall, and offices on the upper floors. [Described in the American Heritage page of FOIA response as a “complete renovation”, Freedom of Information Act documents are posted under "files" on the 6th Signal Battalion Facebook page.] The firing range area was converted to offices, mail room, weight rooms, supply rooms, armories, and spaces referred to as “cages” (combined office and storage space separated by chain link fencing instead of solid walls.) In July 1994, 6th Signal Battalion was inactivated. The building was reassigned to the 59th Signal Battalion. Toxins were removed between April 2000 and October 2009. [See FOIA response] Fort Richardson was merged with Elmendorf Airforce base in 2010, the new combined base being called Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER). One result of this merge is that the Air Force now maintains records from the prior Army Fort Richardson. The following information is taken from the enclosed FOIA response.  On March 31, 2000 the first asbestos inspection of the building was conducted in response to a complaint by a 59th Signal Battalion soldier.  On August 28, 2001, the removal of Asbestos was completed.  On June 9, 2009, Lead samples were taken in the building  On 6/10/2009 one soil sample tested at 1900 mg/kg Lead.  On 7/31/2009 one Lead dust wipe sample was analyzed at 5300 ug/ft2, (ug/ft2 = micrograms per square foot)  As of October 13, 2009, Lead abatement was nearing completion; this is the most recent record of the abatement process History of facility number 357-50 and 357-52 known as Antenna Building This building was treated as two buildings that shared a wall. The separating wall included a large barn-style sliding door which was usually left open, connecting the two sides of the building. The Antenna Building was used as temporary holding for known hazardous waste materials from 1987 until April 1989. In 1989, the building(s) was converted to storage for 6th Signal Battalion. There, the unit stored a variety of antenna, camouflage netting, 20-man tents, generators, water jugs which were filled in the building before field operations, and other misc. equipment. Like the basement of the Barracks building, this building was divided into cages. Barrels were visible in the cages adjacent to 6th Signal Batallion cages. OThe canvass bags holding antenna, nets and tents were covered in an oily dust. The site report describes barrels of JP-4, waste alcohol, and other toxins being stored in the building, and that the barrels were not properly labeled as toxic. It also describes PCB’s found in dust wipes from the floor. [4]. The ATSDR documented testing and abatement of the antenna building. [5] The Air Force Environmental Restoration Program’s report to the EPA describes contaminations throughout the base in great detail. [6] The Army Environmental Justice report is a summarized version of the above. [ http://www.akaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Ft_Richardson_Army_Base_EJ_AK_Military_Superfund_Sites_2003.pdf] The State of Alaska report also summarizes the contamination and cleanup efforts, is the most recent report, and has links to additional information. [7] The four reports above all describe a myriad of toxins and locations, including two PCB’s formulations (Aroclor 1254, and Aroclor 1260) found on the floor of the Antenna Building, and PCB’s found in the water from the onsite well.

Notable operational deployments included an eight-month deployment to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt by 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, a subordinate element of 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Division (Light), in 1990 as part of the Multinational Force and Observers. The deployment began as a six-month rotation but was extended in August 1990 due to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait which precipitated Operation Desert Shield and delayed the arrival of their relieving unit. The division headquarters was moved from Fort Richardson to Fort Wainwright (near Fairbanks) in 1990. Commanders during the Arctic activation included Maj. Gen. David A. Bramlett, Maj. Gen. Samuel E. Ebbessen [8] (a former deputy of General Schwarzkopf during the Persian Gulf War who went on to direct hurricane relief in Florida in 1992, ultimately being relieved from that position), and Maj. Gen. Johnnie H. Corns. The division had two active maneuver brigades and the Army Reserve's 205th Infantry Brigade (Light) was assigned as the division's roundout force.

6th US Infantry Division 1989

References

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"Commie Jew Division?" Really?

Where is there any proof that this division was ever referred to as “Commie Jew Division” by any substantial group of people in the Army chain of command, or anywhere else for that matter? Could such a slur have been uttered? Sure. But to say that Westmoreland considered it such a problem that a new division was formed is quite the claim, and it needs some type of substantiation.

There also should be some citation that the 6th “flunked” its readiness report. MrStiv (talk) 20:30, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

"Commie Jew Division?" Really?

Where is there any proof that this division was ever referred to as “Commie Jew Division” by any substantial group of people in the Army chain of command, or anywhere else for that matter? Could such a slur have been uttered? Sure. But to say that Westmoreland considered it such a problem that a new division was formed is quite the claim, and it needs some type of substantiation.

There also should be some citation that the 6th “flunked” its readiness report. MrStiv (talk) 20:31, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

Assignment of battalions to brigades 1989 unsourced

Noclador, the challenge in sourcing the 6th Inf Div in the 1980s is a little easier than some of the other divisions because 1st and 2nd Brigades were each at a different installation. One can reasonably infer that if a battalion was at Wainright or Richardson, it's with the brigade that is based there. But at the moment, and the reason I have removed the chart and the 1st and 2nd Brigades, is that not even the formation of 1st and 2nd Brigades at the two different forts is sourced. You need to in-line cite that 1st and 2nd Brigades were at their separate fort; you need to cite each individual active battalion being at one fort or other other; you need to find a cite saying that the battalion of the 297th Inf (AK ARNG) was assigned to one or other of the brigades, not just that it joined the division. If you cannot find a cite saying that 6-297 was with a particular brigade, one cannot put it in the list; it will need to stay in free-text in the intro to the 1980s listing. I will copy this note to the main talkpage discussion. Buckshot06 (talk) 01:01, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

Over the last few days there were back-and-forth reverts, unusual on a relatively uncontroversial page like this, on the section on the late 1980s order of battle. This is at it's heart because the sources cited were official U.S. Army lineages for individual infantry battalions and regiments. Yet the data supposed to be supported by that showed detailed assignment of maneuver battalions to individual maneuver brigades. The lineages cited invariably say which division the unit was assigned to, but not which brigade.

Now, after I disgracefully lost my temper several times - anyone interested can read the main WT:MILHIST talk page - Noclador, the user who was claiming the lineages gave this more detailed information which they actually didn't, has written that the actual sources are different, including some congressional testimony on which brigade the Guard's 6th Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment (United States) was assigned to at the time.

Additionally, 4th Squadron, 9th Cav is unsourced; 6th Med Battalion is unsourced; 6th S&T Battalion is unsourced; and 706th Maintenance Battalion is unsourced.

He's now added more data, yet I have rolled him back again. Why? Noclador has cited entire works or chapter-sized pieces: AR600-82 is 33 pages long. Wikipedia is written for generalists, rather than specialists, who may know the material better and be more easily able to identify where in any source the individual piece of data came from. This is part of the reason WP:PAGENUM specifically says "Specify the page number or range of page numbers". I will continue rolling this addition of data back until page numbers are cited. Regards Buckshot06 (talk) 23:57, 2 July 2020 (UTC)