Editing 1st Armored Division (United States) (section)

== Cold War ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2020}}
As part of the [[Korean War]] buildup of American forces, the 1st Armored Division was reactivated at [[Fort Hood]], Texas on 7 March 1951. The division became one of the first divisions in the Army [[Desegregation in the United States|to integrate black soldiers throughout the ranks]], and was also the only combat-ready armored division in the continental United States and the first to receive the [[M48 Patton]] tank.
Training for nuclear war became a major theme in the mid-1950s.  The 1st Armored Division participated in tests of the "Atomic Field Army" at Fort Hood and in Operation Sagebrush, the largest joint maneuver conducted since World War II.  The 1st Armored Division moved to its new base of operations at Fork Polk, Louisiana after completing the exercise in February 1956.<ref name="MIlitary.com 1AD">{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.military.com/HomePage/TitleHistories/1,10982,100079%7C965958,00.html|publisher=Military.com|access-date=22 September 2013}}</ref>

=== Cuba ===
{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2020}}
At the end of the 1950s, the Army's focus on a nuclear battlefield waned and it experienced years of reduced budgets.  The 1st Armored Division reverted into a training cadre for new inductees after being reduced in size and moved back to Fort Hood.

In 1962, the 1st Armored Division was brought back to full strength and reorganized.  Brigades replaced combat commands and the division's aviation assets doubled. Intense training followed the reorganization.  In October 1962 the 1st Armored Division was declared combat-ready just before the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]]. The division deployed from Fort Hood, Texas to [[Fort Stewart]] in response to the Soviet stationing of missiles in Cuba.  The entire operation took 18 days.<ref name="MIlitary.com 1AD" />

In the following six weeks, the 1st Armored Division conducted live-fire training and amphibious exercises on the Georgia and Florida coasts. One highlight was a visit from President John F. Kennedy on 26 November 1962. Shortly thereafter, tensions eased and the division returned to Ft. Hood.

=== Vietnam ===
Although the 1st Armored Division did not participate as a division in the Vietnam War, there were two units, Company A, [[501st Aviation Regiment (United States)|501st Aviation]] and 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry, that served in Vietnam.  Both earned [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]]s, and 1-1 Cavalry received two [[Valorous Unit Award]]s and three [[Gallantry Cross (South Vietnam)|Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry]].  Neither unit was officially detached from the 1st Armored Division thus veterans of both units may wear the division's patch as a [[combat patch]]. In 1967 the [[198th Infantry Brigade (United States)|198th Infantry Brigade]] was formed from three of the division's infantry battalions and deployed from Fort Hood to Vietnam.  After the war, two of the three battalions, 1-[[6th Infantry Regiment (United States)|6 Infantry]] and 1-[[52nd Infantry Regiment (United States)|52 Infantry]], returned to the 1st Armored Division.

In early April 1968, when rioting broke out in many American cities following the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]], the 3rd Brigade was deployed on 6 April to assist in restoring order during [[1968 Chicago riots|rioting in Chicago]].<ref name="Scheips">{{cite book |last=Scheips |first=Paul |title=The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders, 1945-1992 |publisher=US Army Center of Military History|year=2005 |isbn=9781517253783 |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/030/30-20/CMH_Pub_30-20.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920132904/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/030/30-20/CMH_Pub_30-20.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 September 2015}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>{{rp|309}}

=== West Germany ===
{{See also|CENTAG wartime structure in 1989#1st Armored Division}}
[[File:1st US Armored Division 1989.png|thumb|right|1st Armored Division structure 1989 (click to enlarge)]]

{{unreferenced section|date=January 2020}}
In the early 1970s, American forces withdrew from Vietnam and the Army was heavily restructured. the 1st Armored Division was rumored to be on the list of units to be deactivated. Veterans of the division organized a letter-writing campaign to "save" the 1st Armored Division.

As part of the Army's post-Vietnam reorganization, the 1st Armored Division was moved to [[West Germany]] in 1971 and replaced the [[4th Armored Division (United States)|4th Armored Division]] in the Bavarian city of [[Ansbach]]. The Division headquarters remained in Ansbach, with brigade units in the neighboring towns of [[Bamberg]], [[Illesheim]], [[Fürth]] ([[Nuremberg]]), [[Schwabach]], [[Katterbach Kaserne|Katterbach]], [[Crailsheim]], [[Erlangen]] and [[Zirndorf]] for the next twenty years, as part of [[VII Corps (United States)|VII Corps]], itself part of [[NATO]]'s [[Allied Force Command Heidelberg|Central Army Group]].

1st Battalion, [[51st Infantry Regiment (United States)|51st Infantry]] (Mech), at Crailsheim, part of the 1st Brigade, was deactivated on 16 June 1984 as a result of the division's conversion to the Division 86 force structure. Under the Division 86 structure, each heavy division decreased by one infantry battalion, while remaining infantry battalions gained one additional rifle company.

On 16 April 1986, the Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, was activated in Germany.

In April 1987, 6th Battalion, [[43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment|43rd Air Defense Artillery]] (Patriot) moved to a newly built Urlas Kaserne (located near Bismarck & Katterbach Kaserne) assigned to the 1st Armored Division.

On 16 November 1987, the 501st Combat Aviation Battalion was deactivated and re-flagged as 2nd Battalion, [[1st Aviation Regiment (United States)|1st Aviation Regiment]] at [[Katterbach Kaserne]], Federal Republic of Germany, under the 1st Armored Division.