52nd Infantry Regiment (United States) - 21st Century

21st Century

In May 2000, the Army stood up its first Stryker Brigade Combat Team (3d Brigade, 2d Infantry Division, Stryker Brigade Combat Team, stationed at Fort Lewis, WA) under former Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki's Stryker Interim-Force Brigade Combat Team initiative. In September 2000, A-D Companies of 1st Battalion, 32nd Armor Regiment were reflagged as 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment (RSTA) while E Company, 1–32 AR was reflagged as C Company, 52d Infantry Regiment. The company is commonly referred to as C-52, "Charlie, 52nd" and is nicknamed "Hellcat". As the Army stood up a total of six Stryker brigades by 2008, each anti-tank company was flagged as a separate company of the 52d Infantry Regiment. The commander of C Company, 52d Infantry Regiment, as the first company reactivated under the 52d Infantry, holds the regimental colors and is the regimental commander.

From September 2000, C-52d IN has served as the anti-tank company in support of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (3-2 SBCT). The company holds a strength of 54 soldiers and 11 Stryker vehicles and has been most notably utilized to provide auxiliary infantry support to the brigade's three Infantry battalions (1–23 IN, 2–3 IN, 5–20 IN) and other task forces operating in or near the brigade's area of operations.

Most recently, C Company, 52nd Infantry deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, initially helping to facilitate the first democratic election in the country's history and secondly serving as a reserve element for 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team.