Photo By Rusty Rehl | Command Sgt. Maj. Dallas J. Scott holds the battalion guidon during the reorganization...... read more read more
The Idaho Army National Guard’s 2-116th Combined Arms Battalion reorganized as a mobile infantry battalion June 18 in a ceremony on Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho.
“The nature of warfare is evolving, and so too must we,” said Lt. Col. Jared Mckie, 116th CAV (MBCT) executive officer. “Defeating the adversaries of tomorrow requires a force that is more agile, more deployable and capable of operating across vastly different, complex terrain.”
During the ceremony the unit was reorganized as the 2nd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment (Mobile Infantry). It’s two armor companies and one mechanized infantry company were redesignated as mobile infantry companies, a newly formed multi-purpose company was activated and its logistics support company was reorganized as a combat logistics company.
The reorganization is part of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s transition from an armor brigade to a mobile brigade combat team as part of the U.S. Army’s Transformation Initiative. The strategic modernization effort is designed to strengthen the military’s capabilities in response to emerging global threats by adapting fighting formations and integrating new technologies to prepare units and Soldiers to fight on the battlefield of the future.
The regiment has turned in its Abrams Main Battle Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles for Infantry Squad Vehicles, which are based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 platform and can carry up to nine Soldiers.
“The tools we fight with are changing, but the mission remains the same: to find the enemy, fix them and destroy them,” said Mckie. “The vehicles we fight on will change, but the lethality, the discipline and the proud heritage of the 2-116th will remain intact.”
The unit’s headquarters and headquarters company will remain in Caldwell. Alpha Company will relocate from Emmett to Burley. Bravo Company will remain in Nampa. Charlie Company will remain on Gowen Field. Delta Company, the newly formed multi-purpose company, will be located in Emmett and provide the regiment with organic strike, reconnaissance and sensing capabilities.
Golf Company, 145th Brigade Support Battalion was reorganized as Charlie Company 145th Light Support Battalion and will remain on Gowen Field. The event also featured a change of command ceremony for all of the battalion’s company commanders and a change of responsibility ceremony for all of its first sergeants.
Earlier this month, the 116th CAV (MBCT)’s engineer battalion was inactivated, and a signal, engineer, and military company were each reactivated as part of the brigade’s transition to a mobile brigade combat team. In July, the Idaho Army National Guard will activate the 1st of the 116th Cavalry Regiment (Mobile Infantry), which will be headquartered in Lewiston. Logistics and engineer companies in northern Idaho will convert to infantry units.
In August, the 145th Brigade Support Battalion will relocate to the new Jerome Readiness Center from Lewiston and become the 145th Light Support Battalion. The Jerome Readiness Center will be dedicated to former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne on June 29.
Units in Twin Falls and Jerome were already scheduled to relocate to the Jerome Readiness Center later this summer and will now become logistical support units. Elsewhere in the Magic Valley region, the field artillery battery in Burley will relocate to Boise.
In eastern Idaho, the 1st of the 148th Field Artillery Regiment’s headquarters will remain in Pocatello. The region will gain an infantry company in Saint Anthony and gain nearly 275 additional part-time Soldiers. Following the transition, which is expected to be completed by the end of September, Idaho Army National Guard units will be located in 19 communities across the state.
Outside of Idaho, subordinate 116th CBCT battalions from the Montana and Oregon Army National Guards converted to infantry battalions and ceased affiliation with the brigade. The 1st of the 221st Cavalry Regiment, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, will remain affiliated with the brigade and convert to a mobile infantry battalion.
The 116th CAV (MBCT) will retain its cavalry lineage and designation following its transition.
The brigade traces its lineage to the 1st Cavalry, which was constituted on March 4, 1920, and organized throughout Idaho's Snake River Valley. The unit was redesignated as the 116th Cavalry on Oct. 12, 1921, and has been headquartered in Boise since Dec. 9, 1930. Elements of the brigade and its predecessor organizations have served in every major conflict since 1891, including the Spanish-American War, the Mexican Border Campaign, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2026 18:06 |
| Story ID: | 568212 |
| Location: | BOISE, IDAHO, US |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Idaho Army National Guard Armor Battalion Transitions to Mobile Infantry, by MAJ Robert Taylor, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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