SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii, Dec. 12, 2005 – The 5th Stryker Brigade acquired an antitank unit when Company B, 52nd Infantry Regiment, was activated in a ceremony here Dec. 6.

Previously, the brigades contained antitank platoons, said Capt. Rafael A. Duran, commander, Co. B, 52nd Infantry Regiment, but with the changes the Army is making, now antitank companies will support the Stryker Brigades.

"We will fall under the 5th Stryker Brigade," said Duran. "A lot of what we do will be working with the tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire command-link guided missile system."

The soldiers of Co. B, 52nd Infantry Regiment, will join a long, decorated lineage of soldiers.

"We'll be part of the 52nd Infantry Regiment, which was first activated in World War I," said Duran. "We'll wear the

52nd crest, but for administrative purposes, we'll be part of 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment."

The 52nd Infantry Regiment was first activated June 16, 1917, at Chickamauga, Ga. The unit first saw combat in Meuse-Argonne, in Northern France, and in Alsace, France, during World War I. The unit was awarded two Presidential Unit Citation awards for efforts in World War I.

In World War II, the 52nd Infantry, as the 52nd Armored Infantry, battled the Germans in central Europe. For actions at Bastogne, Belgium, and Remagen Bridgehead in Germany, the unit was awarded another Presidential Unit Citation award.

During the Vietnam War, the 52nd Infantry Regiment participated in multiple counter offenses. Most recently, the unit deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, helping to facilitate the first democratic election in the country's history.