Red Bull Rising

19/01/2025

Gen. James J. Mingus, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, attended the 1st Bn 194th Field Artillery dine-out Jan. 11, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Mingus enlisted in the Iowa National Guard Dec. 28, 1981 and is a Spencer, Iowa, native.

📸: Iowa National Guard

01/01/2025

31/12/2024

U.S. Army Sgt. Josh Paavola, an automated logistical specialist assigned to Headquarters Support Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 34th Red Bull Infantry Division, stands for a photo in front of the Battalion’s painted T-barrier in the U.S. Central Command’s area of operations, Sept. 4, 2024. Paavola designed and painted the barrier as part of an Army tradition to commemorate the unit’s deployment. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mahsima Alkamooneh)
https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8775250/paavolas-painting

26/12/2024

24/12/2024

Merry Christmas to all from the Ironman Chapter of the 34th Infantry Division Assn!

20/12/2024

17/12/2024

The 40,000-square-foot museum, currently under construction next to Camp Ripley near Little Falls, is expected to open in 2026. Visitors will hear the stories of the roles Minnesotans have played in military conflicts from the Civil War to the present day.

13/12/2024

"Reporting for Duty: U.S. Citizen-Soldier Journalism from the Afghan Surge, 2010-2011"! by the citizen-soldier-journalists of 2-34th Inf. "Red Bull" Division

In print: amzn.to/2fkWKMf

Motivational video: https://youtu.be/UKU88jK4WIM

"At the height of the "Afghan Surge," more than 100,000 U.S. and coalition troops were committed to a mission of "clear, hold, and build" on behalf of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: CLEAR the countryside of insurgent fighters. HOLD the terrain, alongside Afghan security forces. BUILD infrastructure, commerce, and rule-of-law.

As part of this wave, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division deployed more than 3,000 citizen-soldiers to Eastern Afghanistan. It was the largest call-up of Iowa troops since World War II—and one of the only times a U.S. National Guard brigade was designated as a 'battlespace owner' during Operation Enduring Freedom. Throughout the year-long mission, soldiers trained and tasked as journalists documented the hard days and off-duty activities of their brothers and sisters in arms."

13/12/2024

"Attack! Attack! Attack!" ... and also cake!!!

12/12/2024

"Welcome Home, citizen-soldiers of the 34th Inf. 'Red Bull' Div.!"

13/09/2024

10/09/2024

The Rouse Flag Mystery

Over the next few weeks, you will several posts about the Rouse flag. Just a little background to get things started.

The Ironman Battalion was called to Federal Service in January of 1941 to begin home station training activities. By March of 1941 the battalion had moved to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. By January of 1942 the Ironman Battalion was loading on ships in Fort Din, NJ for the long journey to Europe. This made the Ironman Battalion one of the first expeditionary forces to travel to Europe.

At the time of arrival in Belfast, COL Howard Rouse was the commander of the 133rd Infantry Regiment. A picture featured in Life Magazine in 1942 shows COL Rouse, along with members of Headquarters 133rd Infantry marching off the ship into port displaying an American flag.

COL Rouse has a long history with the Iowa National Guard (you will hear more about him in future posts). He was a long-time resident of Waterloo, Iowa.

Recently in some artifacts that had been donated by COL Rouse to the Grout Museum, an American flag has been discovered that can be dated to the WWII time period. Could this be the same flag that was in Life Magazine in 1942? Could this be the first US Flag that arrived in the European Theater?

06/09/2024