Army Division Challenge Coins for our Brave Men and Women

Many divisions of the U.S. Army have a division-wide challenge coin distributed to every member of the division as a symbol of solidarity and to promote division morale. These coins may also be awarded to soldiers who demonstrate exceptional service as part of a major operation or traded out among other divisions as a gesture of respect. However they are used, every division challenge coin is uniquely crafted to include symbols and words of great importance to the army division they are attached to and are often prized, much like a badge, to whoever owns one. 

Major U.S. Army Divisions known to take part in the tradition of maintaining a division challenge coin and operating in armed conflicts today include:

• 1st Armored Division, “Old Ironsides,” based at Fort Bliss, Texas, known for being the first armored division to enter battle during World War II.
• 1st Cavalry Division, “First Team,” based at Fort Hood, Texas, known for taking part in every major U.S. armed conflict since World War II.
• 1st Infantry Division, “The Big Red One,” based at Fort Riley, Kansas, considered the oldest continuously serving army division in the U.S. Regular Army.
• 10th Mountain Division, “Mountaineers,” based at Fort Drum, New York, the only army division of its size specialized in alpine and arctic warfare. 
• 91st Infantry Division, “Wild West Division,” based at Fort Liggett, California, one of the U.S. Army Reserves primary organizations for training and testing unit readiness.
• 4th Infantry Division, “Ivy,” based at Fort Carson, Colorado, participated in Operation Red Dawn to capture Saddam Hussein during the Iraq War.
• 29th Infantry Division, “Blue and Gray,” based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, took part in Operation Overlord and stormed the trenches of Normandy during “D-Day.”