Several weeks after mustering out of federal service, this unit was called up for World War I duties, entering federal service on March 25, 1917. The National Guard, in preparation for America’s entry into World War I, had been alerted for call-up into active federal service, and Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia Guards were formed into the 38th Division. The unit was redesignated as Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 152nd Infantry, a company of the 38th Division.

The 38th Division initially trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Unit strength totaled about 28,000 troops and was approximately 50 percent Indiana Guard, 25 percent Kentucky/West Virginia Guard, and the remaining 25 percent were "National Army" enlistees and draftees from around the country.

The earliest forebear of the 38th Division Sustainment Brigade was the “113th Trains Headquarters," which comprised about 3,000 men to provide support to the 38th Division. Trains included:

• 113th Train HQ and Military Police
• 113th Ammunition Train
• 113th Supply Train
• 113th Engineer Train
• 113th Sanitary Train (Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals 149-152)

The 38th Infantry Division arrived in Europe in October 1918 and was dispersed into front-line fighting units. After the signing of the Armistice of Nov. 11, 1918, the Division was demobilized March 8, 1919, at Camp Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky. After World War I, Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 152nd Infantry was reorganized and federally recognized September 22, 1921, at Indianapolis.

During World War II, the Sustainment Brigade was the 151st Infantry Regimental headquarters.
These infantry regiments were responsible for eradicating the enemy forces and earned the nickname "Avengers of Bataan."

On Jan. 7, 1941, the unit was inducted into World War II federal service in Indianapolis. On Feb. 10, 1942, the 38th Division was redesignated as the 38th Infantry Division.

After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the unit's mission changed from service in the European Theater to service in the Pacific Theater. The 38th Division underwent three years of training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and departed for Hawaii in Jan.1944 for additional training and security operations. The next stop was Oro Bay, New Guinea, for jungle training and several brief encounters with Japanese troops. From there the division headed to Leyte, where it engaged in a fierce battle with the Japanese in December 1944. The next landing, Luzon, was to be the unit's assault landing, but because ground troops in the area had already secured the area, members of the division were met instead by local residents carrying baskets of food. The remainder of the tour resembled the unit's Leyte experience. The 38th Infantry Division was then assigned the M-7 Operation to assist in eradicating the presence of Japanese troops in the Philippine Peninsula and Islands in Manila Bay as part of a five-phase plan, which included clearing Highway 1 in the north, the Fort Stotsenburg area in the very south (initiated by the landing at Mariveles), the Zambales Mountains between, and the Islands of Caraballo, Carabao, and El Fraile (Fort Drum).

The Battle of Zig Zag Pass was fought in early 1945, on the road to Olongapo from Dinalupihan. The pass was strategic in that it opened the way to Olongapo and Subic Bay and sealed off the Japanese soldiers in Bataan. Fighting was very difficult, involving scaling cliffs and close-quarters jungle fighting. Headquarters Company, 151st Infantry Regiment, was responsible for overseeing the missions of the 151st Infantry Regiment, which consisted of three battalions. The 151st, along with the 152nd and 149th Infantry Regiments, was involved in the clearing of Highway 1. The Battle of Zig Zag Pass was a bloody standstill between the Japanese and the 38th Division’s Infantry Regiments, but ultimately, the 38th ID prevailed. The 151st was also involved in the clearing of the Zambales Mountains, as well as the Island Operations.

In February 1945, the Philippine Peninsula was declared clear of the Japanese. Legend has it on this day General Douglas C. MacArthur is said to have declared the 38th Infantry Division, "The Avengers of Bataan." The nickname stuck for five decades, and in 2011, the U.S. Army Center of Military History granted the nickname as the 38th Infantry Division's "Distinctive Designation." Following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the unconditional surrender by the Empire of Japan, the Japanese on the Philippine Peninsula surrendered to the 38th Infantry Division. By June 1945, the 38th Infantry Division had completed operations and by Nov. 1945, its members returned to Indiana by way of Camp Anza, California.

The 38th Division went through several changes in the post-WWII era, in which support was centralized under a Division Support Command (DISCOM), consisting of a headquarters, headquarters company and band, an administration company, medical battalion, supply and transportation battalion and maintenance battalion.

The next major change came more than 50 years later, in September 1993, when the DISCOM was completely realigned. The traditional supply and transport, medical, and maintenance battalions were reorganized into one main and three forward support battalions.

• Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, units of the 38th Division soon began deploying in support of the Global War on Terrorism. The U.S. Army began an Army-wide transformation into a modular organization to meet the challenges of this conflict. As part of the reorganized “plug-and-play” concept, the 38th Division Support Command (DISCOM) transformed into the 38th Sustainment Brigade.
• May 2006: Under the name "Task Force Indy," Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) DISCOM was ordered into active federal service for deployment to the Iraq War to provide command and control elements for various rotations, including Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit served as the Garrison Command for Victory Base Complex in Baghdad in the ongoing conflict and the broader efforts to stabilize Iraq.
• Nov. 2007: HHC DISCOM was released from active federal service and reverted to state control. On Sept. 1, 2008, the unit went from a "Support" element to a "Sustainment" element when it was expanded, reorganized, and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 38th Sustainment Brigade—not doctrinally aligned to a specific division.
• Aug. 26, 2012: The Avengers were activated again for federal service in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Their mission was to perform sustainment operations throughout the Kuwait theatre and facilitate the drawdown of troops from Afghanistan. The commander and the command sergeant major were Col. Deedra Thombleson and CSM Karolyn Peeler.
• June 2013: The brigade was relieved from its deployment to Kuwait, and demobilized through North Fort Hood, Texas.
• Feb. 26, 2018: The Avengers returned to Kuwait to provide support operations as part of operations Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve, and to units across the U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility. The Avengers redeployed November 2018.

• "Avengers of Bataan, the 38th Infantry Division Report on the M7 Operation" August 1945. Search https://www.fold3.com/.
• 38th Infantry Division. “Avengers of Bataan: 38th Infantry Division, Historical Report,” Sept. 2011 (originally published in 1945).
• 38th Infantry Division. "Avengers of Bataan" Deployment History, 1947.
• B. David Mann. “Avenging Bataan: The Battle of Zigzag Pass,” Ivy House Pub Group, June 20, 2002.
• Lineage statement issued from Department of the Army Center of Military History.
• Moore, Zita. "38th Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/38th_Infantry_Division_Sustainment_Brigade.
• National Guard Bureau Organizational Authorities.
• Prefer, Nathan N. "Back to Bataan," Warfare History Network, June 2018,  https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/back-to-bataan/.