88th History

HISTORY OF THE 88TH INFANTRY DIVISION (INF DIV), THE 88TH ARMY RESERVE COMMAND (ARCOM), THE 88TH REGIONAL SUPPORT COMMAND (RSC), AND THE 88TH REGIONAL READINESS COMMAND (RRC)

The history of the 88th begins with the 88th Infantry Division. The Division was organized on August 25, 1917 at Camp Dodge, Iowa. A year later, in August 1918, the Division arrived in France. During the remainder of World War I, the men of the "Cloverleaf Division," as they were called, fought with distinction in the Alsace campaign. Following their service in France, the Division returned to Camp Dodge and was demobilized on June 10, 1919. Two years later, it was reconstituted in the organized reserves at Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In July 1942, the 88th Infantry Division was ordered to active service at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma. It went overseas in December 1943, and fought gallantly in the North Apennines, Po Valley and Rome-Arno campaigns in Italy. From the date of its landing in Naples until the end of hostilities, the 88th Infantry Division was one of the most battle-tested divisions, earning the nickname
"Blue Devils" from the German Army.

In 344 days of combat, the Division sustained a total of 15,173 casualties – killed, wounded, and missing in action. This was one of the highest casualty rates of any Division in WWII, and is testimony to the fierce combat experienced by the 88th Infantry Division. Two members of the Division were awarded the Medal of Honor for their valor.

The 88th remained in Italy as part of the Trieste Occupation Forces. It was inactivated at Leghorn, Italy, in October 1947.

The 88th Army Reserve Command was formed at Fort Snelling in January, 1968, as one of 18 ARCOMs which were organized to provide command and control to Army Reserve units. The initial area of responsibility for the 88th ARCOM included Minnesota and Iowa, and this area was later expanded to include Wisconsin.

In 1996, when the Army Reserve’s command structure was revised, the 88th Regional Support Command (88th RSC) was established at Fort Snelling. Its mission was to provide command and control for Reserve units in a six state region, which included Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. In addition, the 88th RSC ensured operational readiness, provided area support services, and supported emergency operations in its area of responsibility.

In 2003, the Army Reserve’s command structure was again revised, and the 88th Regional Readiness Command (88th RSC) was formed at Fort Snelling with responsibilitiy for USAR units in the same six states included in the 88th RSC.

In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended to realign Fort Snelling, MN by disestablishing the 88th Regional Readiness Command. This recommendation was part of a larger recommendation to re-engineer and streamline the Command and Control structure of the Army Reserves that would create the Northwest Regional Readiness Command at Fort McCoy, WI.

In 2008, the 88th Regional Readiness Command (88th RSC) moved to Ft McCoy Wisconsin. The mission was changed to provide base operations support to the new 19 state region, Welcome Home Warrior Cermonys, and the Yellow Ribbon weekends. The units assigned to the 88th RSC include 6 Army Reserve Bands and the Headquarters Company.

Information provided by the PAO, 88th RSC