Am I correct that the commander of the 1st Infantry Division is often (usually? always?) an armor officer? If so, why?

CPT Noah Malgeri — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 17:36:49 -0400

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 16 at 2018 5:41 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 17:41:26 -0400

I had never heard that before. I was never in the 1st ID, but like all infantry divisions, I would have thought their commanders would be infantry officers. All of my commanders were infantry officers.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Apr 16 at 2018 5:42 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 17:42:59 -0400

Good question sir, we had a company commander in Armor Battalion that had been Infantry, cross trained to Armor.

Response by CPT Don Kemp made Apr 16 at 2018 5:45 PM

CPT Don Kemp — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 17:45:59 -0400

Who knew. Interesting question. Based on a quick Wikipedia review, it appears 1st Infantry Division Commanders are evenly split between Infantry & Armor.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 16 at 2018 5:51 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 17:51:31 -0400

There is no more armored school at Fort Knox. It's got merged into the Infantry school at Fort Benning. So now combat arms is combined

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 16 at 2018 5:53 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 17:53:52 -0400

General officers don't have a "branch" like infantry or armor once they pin on their first star. In fact, they stop wearing their branch insignia and wear the US insignia instead. That is because they are now at a level that requires them to incorporate all the various branches and functions into an overall strategy and plan. Armor and infantry officers grow up in a similar background since armor and infantry fight together. So from their earliest days, they have worked with both infantry and armor units integrated into teams or task forces. So in reality, at that level there is little difference in professional experience between an infantry and armor officer as it relates to the expertise needed to command a division.

Response by LTC Jeff Shearer made Apr 16 at 2018 6:45 PM

LTC Jeff Shearer — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 18:45:19 -0400

Dont have a clue, I would assume that whatever GO was the CDR would have come from the IN.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 16 at 2018 7:38 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 19:38:18 -0400

I may be wrong, but 1st ID is armor heavy.

Response by CPT Dennis Dobson made Apr 16 at 2018 7:54 PM

CPT Dennis Dobson — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 19:54:22 -0400

Usually. The 1st is a mech unit/ combined arms division. Having an experienced tanker as commander gives the unit an overall better perspective of using a mech unit in battle.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 16 at 2018 10:30 PM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 22:30:24 -0400

There are different factors that go into the selection of a Division commander. The type of unit has a lot to do with it. Something to consider is that not all Infantry Divisions are actually Infantry divisions. They are misnamed due to historical lineage. The ratio of Infantry battalion to armor battalion denotes the type of division. When the Army downsized to ten divisions they kept the same equipment but redesignated the name of the unit. So now we have Armor divisions that we call Infantry divisions. So don’t get to hung up on the background of the GO.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Apr 17 at 2018 9:49 AM

SGM Bill Frazer — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 09:49:41 -0400

No.

Response by 1LT Gary Thorpe made May 1 at 2018 2:29 PM

1LT Gary Thorpe — Tue, 01 May 2018 14:29:22 -0400

The 1st Inf Division currently consists of two armor brigades, 1 combat aviation brigade, REMF brigade, and HQ

Response by LTC Tim Ellis made May 11 at 2018 10:42 AM

LTC Tim Ellis — Fri, 11 May 2018 10:42:06 -0400

the CG was basic branch Infantry when I was with them. Many were during the 90s and 2000s.