42nd Infantry Division (United States)
The 42nd Infantry Division (42ID) ("Rainbow") is a division of the United States Army National Guard. It was nicknamed the Rainbow Division because, during rapid mobilization for service in WW1, it was formed from 27 National Guard units from across the US. The division was engaged in four major operations between July 1918 and the armistice in November 1918, and demobilized in 1919. Since World War I, the 42nd Infantry Division has served in World War II and the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).
Original design of 42nd Infantry Division "Rainbow" patch, showing half arc. The patch was later modified to a quarter arc.
WW I colors unfurled for first time in France. Note half arc rainbow in design.
Men of Company D, 165th Infantry Regiment, 42nd Division, on hike from Bénaménil, France, to a rest camp at Chenevières, March 1, 1918.
Memorial in Fère-en-Tardenois (France).
The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized militia force and a federal military reserve force of the United States Army. They are simultaneously part of two different organizations: the ARNG of each state, most territories, and the District of Columbia, as well as the federal ARNG, as part of the National Guard as a whole. It is divided into subordinate units stationed in each state or insular area, responsible to their respective governors or other head-of-government.
National Guard Bureau organizational chart depicting command and reporting relationships
Army National Guard staff organizational chart
Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson administers the oath of office to Lt. Gen. Jon A. Jensen as the 22nd director of the Army National Guard on Monday, 10 August 2020 at the Temple Army National Guard Readiness Center in Arlington, Virginia.
Image: Major General Raymond H. Fleming
