23rd Chemical Battalion
military unit
The 23d CBRN Battalion is a Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives defense battalion of the United States Army, part of the 2ID Sustainment Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Humphreys, South Korea.
It traces its lineage back to the 1944 formation of the 23rd Chemical Smoke Generator Battalion in England during World War II. The 23rd was inactivated after the end of the war and reactivated in 1949 as the 4th Chemical Smoke Generator Battalion, serving in the Korean War before being inactivated in Germany at the end of the 1950s. The 23rd Chemical Battalion was reactivated in Korea in 1988.
History
Constituted 27 May 1944 in the Army of the United States as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 23d Chemical Smoke Generator Battalion, and activated in England
Inactivated 12 November 1945 in France
Redesignated 18 January 1949 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 4th Chemical Smoke Generator Battalion, and allotted to the Regular Army
Activated 1 February 1949 at the Army Chemical Center, Edgewood, Maryland
Reorganized and redesignated 4 March 1954 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 4th Chemical Battalion
Inactivated 15 June 1959 in Germany
Redesignated 16 September 1988 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 23d Chemical Battalion, and activated in Korea
In a 4 April 2013 ceremony, the 23d Chemical Battalion was officially transferred back to Korea after spending eight years at Joint Base Lewis–McChord. On 16 October 2016, its headquarters and headquarters detachment was redesignated as a company.
Composition
The 23d CBRN Battalion is currently composed of:
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 23rd CBRN Battalion, Camp Humphreys
4th CBRN Company, Camp Humphreys
61st CBRN Company, Camp Humphreys
62nd CBRN Company, Camp Humphreys
501st CBRN Company (Technical Escort), Camp Humphreys
718th Ordnance Company (EOD), Camp Humphreys
As of 10 June 2013, the following companies were reassigned from the 23rd CBRNE BN.
63rd Chemical Company, Fort Campbell – To 2nd CM BN
92nd Chemical Company, Fort Stewart -To 83rd CM BN
Campaign participation credit
World War II
Normandy
Northern France
Rhineland
Ardennes-Alsace
Central Europe
Korean War
UN Defensive
UN Offensive
CCF Intervention
First UN Counteroffensive
CCF Spring Offensive
UN Summer-Fall Offensive
Second Korean Winter
Korea, Summer-Fall 1952
Third Korean Winter
Korea, Summer 1953
War on terrorism
Afghanistan: Consolidation II
Decorations
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered KOREA 1952
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered KOREA 1952–1953
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN 2007–2008
Army Superior Unit Award, Streamer embroidered 2013–2014
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered KOREA 1950–1952
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered KOREA 1952–1953
References
This article incorporates public domain material from Lineage and Honors of the 23d Chemical Battalion. United States Army Center of Military History.
The public source identifies “23rd Chemical Battalion” as military unit. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around 23rd, Chemical and Battalion.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “23rd Chemical Battalion”, the useful work is to connect “military unit” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 15, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q4631615. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1944, 1949, 1988 and 1945.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “23rd Chemical Battalion”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 23rd Chemical Battalion primary sources, 23rd Chemical Battalion archive and 23rd research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “23rd Chemical Battalion”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “23rd Chemical Battalion” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.