2nd Bn 42nd Field Artillery Lance

The 2nd Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery (Lance) traces its origins to World War I, serving with distinction as part of the 42nd Field Artillery Regiment. Reactivated during the Cold War, the battalion was equipped with the MGM-52 Lance tactical missile system, becoming a vital component of the U.S. Army’s nuclear-capable artillery forces in Europe. Stationed in Germany as part of V Corps, the unit provided deterrence against Warsaw Pact aggression from the 1970s through the late 1980s. With the end of the Cold War and the retirement of the Lance system, the battalion was inactivated in the early 1990s, leaving a legacy of readiness and technological innovation.