The 36th Infantry was formed on 1 July 1916 at Brownsville, Texas from elements of the 4th Infantry, 26th Infantry and 28th Infantry.^[1] It was assigned to the 12th Division on 5 July 1918, relieved from the 12th Division 31 January 1919, and inactivated at Fort Jay New York on 13 October 1921.

The 36th was reassigned to the Ninth Infantry Division on 24 March 1923 and relieved from the Ninth Infantry Division on 1 August 1940. It was redesignated the 36th Infantry (Armored) on 15 April 1941 and reassigned to the 3d Armored Division. On 1 July 1942 it was redesignated the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment.^[1] The regiment's first commander was Walton Walker.

The 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment (Spartans), was reactivated at Ray Barracks, Germany, in 1996, having been reflagged from 3-5 CAV, which was stationed at nearby Kirchgöns. The battalion was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division (Ready First Combat Team). The battalion participated in an 11-month rotation in Bosnia Implementation Force (IFOR), followed by a sixth month Stabilisation Force (SFOR) rotation ending in another six-month rotation as part of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in 2000. The battalion was stationed at Camp Monteith. In May 2003, the Spartans deployed to central Baghdad, Iraq, for a fifteen-month mission in support of the Iraq War's Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion deployed to Iraq for a second time in 2006, where it provided security and stability to the city of Hit. The unit redeployed to Germany in February 2007.

The 1st Battalion of the 36th Infantry Regiment was reactivated on 16 September 2008 and assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team (currently 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team), 1st Armored Division. The motto is "Deeds Not Words!"

World War II

• Normandy
• Northern France
• Rhineland
• Ardennes-Alsace
• Central Europe

Iraq War

• Operation Iraqi Freedom

Global War on Terrorism

• Operartion Enduring Freedom
• Operation Freedom Sentinel

• Presidential Unit Citation for the Roer River Salient; Companies "A" and "C" of the First Battalion
• Presidential Unit Citation; First Battalion assault on the Siegfried Line
• Presidential Unit Citation; Medical Section 2nd Battalion Fromental France
• Presidential Unit Citation; Medical Section 3rd Battalion Stolberg, Germany^[2]
• Presidential Unit Citation, Siegfried Line; First Battalion
• Presidential Unit Citation, Echtz-Hoben; First Battalion
• Belgian Fourragère
• Presidential Unit Citation, Iraq; First Battalion (2004)
• Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Iraq; First Battalion (2004)
• Navy Unit Commendation, Al Anbar, Iraq; First Battalion (2007)
• Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Al Anbar, Iraq; First Battalion (2007)
• Meritorious Unit Commendation, Iraq; First Battalion (2010)

  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.

• 36th Infantry Lineage and Honors Archived 24 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine at the United States Army Center of Military History
• 36th Armored Infantry Regiment during WWII