29th Infantry Division (United States)

29th Infantry Division
Shoulder sleeve insignia of the 29th Infantry Division
Active	1917 – 1919 1923 – 1968 1985 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Part of	The Army National Guards of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, West Virginia and Kentucky
Garrison/HQ	Fort Belvoir, Virginia, U.S.
Nickname(s)	"Blue and Gray" (special designation)[1]
Motto(s)	"Twenty-nine, let's go!"
Engagements	World War I Meuse-Argonne World War II Normandy Northern France Rhineland Central Europe NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina Global War on Terrorism Iraq War War in Afghanistan
Commanders
Current commander	MG Joseph Dinonno
Command Sergeant Major	CSM Timothy Hawley
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia
Flag
Shoulder sleeve insignia (subdued)
Combat service identification badge

The 29th Infantry Division (29th ID), also known as the "Blue and Gray Division",^[1] is an infantry division of the United States Army based at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia. The division is currently a formation of the Army National Guard and includes units from Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

Formed in 1917, the division deployed to France as a part of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I. It was called up for service again during World War II. The division's 116th Regiment, attached to the First Infantry Division, was the first wave of troops ashore during Operation Overlord, the landings in Normandy, France. It supported a special Ranger unit tasked with clearing strong points at Omaha Beach. The rest of the 29th ID came ashore later, then advanced to Saint-Lô, and eventually through France and into Germany.

Following the end of World War II, the division saw frequent reorganizations and deactivations. The 29th did not see combat through most of the five decades, but it participated in numerous training exercises throughout the world.

In the 1990s, it was deployed to Bosnia (SFOR10) and Kosovo (KFOR) as command elements and units of the division continue to deploy to locations such as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and to the War in Afghanistan as a part of the Global War on Terrorism's Operation Enduring Freedom, and to the Iraq War as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. The division has continued answering the call supporting Operation Spartan Shield in forward deployed locations.

In 2016, two separate elements of the 29th deployed overseas. In July 2016, over 80 soldiers deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, a U.S. government military campaign against Islamic State militants.^[2][3]

In October 2019, over 450 29th soldiers deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield.^[4][5]

The division most recently deployed to Kuwait for its second Task Force Spartan rotation in 2021. From Kuwait, staff officers from 29ID Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion coordinated the rescue of approximately 11,000 refugees from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the nation.