7th Infantry Division (United States)

7th Infantry Division
7th Infantry Division Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1917–1921 1940–1971 1974–1994 1999–2006 2012–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Stryker infantry
Size	Division
Part of	I Corps
Garrison/HQ	Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, U.S.
Nickname(s)	"Hourglass Division" "Bayonet Division" "California Division"[1]
Motto(s)	"Light, Silent, and Deadly" "Trust in Me"
March	"Arirang"
Mascot(s)	Black Widow spider
Engagements	World War I World War II Aleutian Islands Campaign Battle of Attu Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign Battle of Leyte Battle of Okinawa Korean War Korean DMZ Conflict Operation Golden Pheasant Invasion of Panama 1992 Los Angeles riots Global War on Terrorism Invasion of Iraq War in Afghanistan
Website	Official Website
Commanders
Current commander	MG Michelle A. Schmidt
Notable commanders	Charles H. Corlett Archibald V. Arnold Joseph Warren Stilwell Jr. Lyman Lemnitzer Arthur Trudeau Hal Moore Wayne C. Smith William H. Harrison
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia
Combat Service Identification Badge[2]
NATO Map Symbol	7 I

The 7th Infantry Division is a non-deployable administrative headquarters of the United States Army based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. It is charged with maintaining the capability of two Stryker infantry brigade combat teams, a combat aviation brigade, and a Division Artillery Unit, as well as preparing units for several U.S. Army Pacific yearly exercises. The 7th Infantry Division is the only active-duty multi-component division headquarters in the Army.^[3] Major General Michelle A. Schmidt commands the division. The 7th Infantry Division is also home to two of the Army's newest enabling battlefield capabilities, the Multi Domain Task Force and the Intelligence, Information, Cyber, Electronic Warfare and Space Capabilities, or I2CEWS battalion.^[4][5]

The division was first activated in December 1917 in World War I, and has been based at Fort Ord, California for most of its history. Although elements of the division saw brief active service in World War I, it is best known for its participation in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II where it took heavy casualties engaging the Imperial Japanese Army in the Aleutian Islands, Leyte, and Okinawa. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, the division was stationed in Japan and Korea, and with the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 was one of the first units in action. It took part in the Inchon Landings and the advance north until Chinese forces counter-attacked and almost overwhelmed the scattered division. The 7th later went on to fight in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill and the Battle of Old Baldy.

After the Korean War ended, the division was headquartered at Camp Casey with artillery units supporting the 1st Cavalry Division just south of the Korean Demilitarized Zone until the mid-1960s. In the late 1980s, it briefly saw action overseas in Operation Golden Pheasant in Honduras and Operation Just Cause in Panama. In the early 1990s, it provided domestic support to the civil authorities in Operation Green Sweep and during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. In 1994 the division was inactivated with a few units transferring to Fort Lewis and Fort Ord closing. In June 1999 the 7th was reactivated at Fort Carson, Colorado and comprised three National Guard brigades. The 1st Battalion, 162d Infantry of the Oregon Army National Guard was attached to the 7th Infantry Division and deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003 to 2004. The division's final role was as a training and evaluation unit for Army National Guard brigades, which it undertook until its inactivation in 2006.

On 26 April 2012, the Department of Defense announced the reactivation of the 7th Infantry Division headquarters supporting the mission of I Corps.