Fort Harrison ceremony marks 163rd battalion's shift to infantry

Fort Harrison’s 163rd battalion has traded a cavalry mission built around heavy vehicles for an infantry role that puts lighter, faster-moving soldiers at the center of its work. The change reaches beyond a new name: it alters how the unit trains, what it carries, and how it is expected to operate across different terrain.

The redesignation ceremony on May 27 at Fort Harrison in Helena officially changed the 1st Battalion, 163rd Cavalry Regiment to the 1st Battalion, 163rd Infantry Regiment. Soldiers also switched patches, moving from the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team to the 1889th Regional Support Group, a sign that the battalion is entering a new organizational structure tied to the Army’s changing mission requirements.

The equipment change is just as significant. The battalion is moving away from Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles and toward infantry squad vehicles, which are lighter and built to help soldiers move more quickly. That shift means less emphasis on armored maneuver and more on dismounted infantry work, a practical difference that will shape how the unit trains at Fort Harrison and what kinds of missions it is prepared to answer.

The battalion’s history remains intact even as its role changes. Leaders marked the redesignation as a recognition of more than a century of Montana military service, with roots that run through World War I, World War II, the Global War on Terrorism and later deployments to Southwest Asia. During the ceremony, the unit also received the Superior Unit Award streamer for exceptionally meritorious service during its 2021-2022 deployment to U.S. Central Command, when Montana soldiers supported Operation Spartan Shield in Kuwait, Jordan and Syria.

For Lewis and Clark County, the change matters because Fort William Henry Harrison is the Montana Army National Guard’s primary training site and sits on about 6,730 acres in the Helena Valley, roughly one mile from the western edge of Helena. The post has been used for Guard training since 1911, making it one of the county’s most enduring military institutions.

The Montana Department of Military Affairs says the Guard carries a dual state and federal mission, and that is the larger frame for this redesignation. The battalion is still a Montana unit with a deep lineage tied to the 41st Infantry Division and the Pacific fight of World War II, but its new infantry identity signals how that legacy is being adapted for the Army the state is expected to support now.