Semper anticus, meaning ever forward, is the motto of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) of the Oklahoma Army National Guard. It is a most fitting slogan for this heroic brigade with a historic and meritorious lineage. The various units and formations of the 45th have continued to advance against the Nation’s enemies from the time of the battles on the beaches of Anzio, Italy, during World War II, to the ongoing combat in the deserts of Afghanistan today. The stories of its Soldiers span the history of this great Nation and represent the changing tides that have come and gone.
Oren L. Peters, a former member of what was then the 45th Infantry Division, recalls his story on the bombed-out beachhead of Anzio in early 1944. The 45th was stopped for a time by the Nazis. For the first half of that year, the Germans were fighting stubbornly to prevent the Allies from taking Rome. It was during that protracted battle that Peters won his Silver Star.
Present day, the 45th – now the 45th IBCT after a transition as part of a major reorganization of the Army – continues to fight in the GWOT, having served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.
“One thing I noticed, especially while being in Afghanistan, was that everybody knew our patch and they knew where we were from,” said CW3 Kristen Tidaback, a supply system technician formerly with the 45th, now with the Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ). “They could recognize it easily. Even [back home, when local citizens] would see the patch from the 45th, they would say ‘Hey! My niece or my friend is in the 45th.’ It’s very recognizable. It has a good reputation. They all know the 45th.”
“My first [deployment] was to Iraq,” said SFC Chris Roberson, an automated logistical specialist and a 26-year veteran of the 45th IBCT, now with JFHQ. “That was an experience,” he remembered. “You really had to deal with a lot of different types of people from different countries and try to communicate.”
