Draft:360th Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 360th Regiment is a United States Army regiment, part of the United States Army Reserve. Originally constituted for service in World War I, the regiment was active during that war as well as during the interwar period. The regiment did not see active service during World War II, being disbanded in 1944. It was reconstituted and activated during the Cold War in 1959, and regimental elements currently serve as training units.

World War I
The 360th Infantry Regiment was constituted on 5 August 1917 in the National Army and was assigned to the 180th Infantry Brigade, 90th Division. The 90th Division was originally manned with draftees from Texas and Oklahoma, and the 180th Infantry Brigade's units were made up of men from Texas. The regiment was organized in September 1917 at Camp Travis (originally named Camp Wilson) northeast of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. The regiment subsequently was sent to France in the summer of 1918 and saw service in the Battle of St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in the closing months of the war.

Interwar period
The 360th Infantry arrived at the port of Boston, Massachusetts on 7 June 1919 on the troopship SS Mongolia and was demobilized (disbanded) on 17 June 1919 at Camp Bowie, near Brownwood, Texas. The regiment was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921, assigned to the 90th Division, and allotted to the Eighth Corps Area. Per the terms of the National Defense Act of 1920 that stipulated that Organized Reserve units be organized in the geographic locations that their National Army predecessors had come from during World War I, to the extent practicable, the 360th Infantry was initiated (activated) in November 1921 with the regimental headquarters at Houston, Texas. Subordinate battalion headquarters were concurrently organized as follows: 1st Battalion at Houston; 2nd Battalion at Beaumont, Texas; and 3rd Battalion at Lufkin, Texas. The 3rd Battalion was relocated on 15 April 1925 to Galveston, Texas. The 360th Infantry usually conducted summer training with the 2nd Division's 9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments at Fort Sam Houston or Camp Bullis, Texas. As an alternate form of summer training, regimental personnel conducted infantry Citizens Military Training Camps held at Fort Sam Houston or Camp Bullis. For personnel not selected for active duty training, an annual "contact camp" was held at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas in College Station, Texas, during the fall or winter months; the primary ROTC "feeder" school for new Reserve lieutenants for the 360th Infantry was the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. The designated mobilization training station for the regiment was Fort Sam Houston.

World War II
In early 1942, after American entry into World War II, the infantry divisions of the Organized Reserve were reorganized on paper from the four-infantry regiment "square" organization to the new three-infantry regiment "triangular" organization preparatory to their call to active duty. On 20 February 1942, the 360th Infantry was relieved from assignment to the 90th Division, concurrently withdrawn from the Organized Reserve, and allotted to the Army of the United States as an inactive unit. It was disbanded in an inactive status on 11 November 1944.

Cold War to present
The 360th Infantry was reconstituted on 27 March 1959 in the Army Reserve and activated on 1 May 1959 as an element of the 91st Division (Training), with headquarters at Sacramento, California. It was reorganized from 20 January-29 February 1968 to consist of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, elements of the 91st Division (Training). The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions were inactivated on 16-17 October 1986 and relieved from assignment to the 91st Division (Training). The 360th Regiment was reorganized on 16 April 1995 to consist of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, elements of the 91st Division (Exercise), and was further reorganized on 17 October 1999 to consist of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, elements of the 91st Division (Training Support); the 1st Battalion was concurrently allotted to the Regular Army. The regiment was reorganized on 1 May 2007 as a parent regiment under the United States Army Regimental System; concurrently the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions were relieved from assignment to the 91st Division (Training Support).

Campaign participation credit
World War I
 * St. Mihiel
 * Meuse-Argonne
 * Lorraine 1918

Decorations
1st Battalion entitled to: 2nd and 3rd Battalions entitled to:
 * Army Superior Unit Award, streamer embroidered 2003-2005
 * Army Superior Unit Award, streamer embroidered 2008-2011
 * Army Superior Unit Award, streamer embroidered 2011-2013
 * Army Superior Unit Award, streamer embroidered 2003-2005
 * Army Superior Unit Award, streamer embroidered 2008-2011

Heraldry
The coat of arms was originally approved for the 360th Infantry Regiment, Organized Reserve on 28 May 1925. It was redesignated for the 360th Regiment, Army Reserve on 26 January 1962. The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 360th Infantry Regiment, Organized Reserve on 7 June 1926. It was redesignated for the 360th Regiment, Army Reserve on 26 January 1962.

Description

 * Shield: Argent, a bend Azure charged with a mullet of the first and the insignia of the 90th Division Gules (the "OT" monogram) fimbriated of the field (Argent), in sinister chief a bear rampant Sable and in dexter base an oak tree surrounded by a cordon of barbed wire Proper.
 * Crest: That for regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: On a wreath of the colors (Argent and Azure) the Lexington Minute Man Proper. The statue of the Minute Man, Captain John Parker (H.H. Kitson, sculptor), stands on the Common in Lexington, Massachusetts.
 * Motto: Toujours Fid'ele (Always Faithful).
 * Distinctive unit insignia: Shield and motto of the coat of arms.

Symbolism

 * Shield: The bear was carried as a mascot throughout World War I. The tree with barbed wire around the trunk is symbolic of capture by the 360th Infantry of the fortified Bois-le-Pretre on September 13, 1918, which was the regiment's most outstanding feat of arms in World War I. The star represents Texas, the Lone Star State, where the regiment was organized. The "OT" monogram (90th Division insignia) alludes to the regiment's service with the 90th Division in World War I.
 * Crest: The crest is that of the U.S. Army Reserve.