After training at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, the division was deployed to France but did not see combat before the end of World War I.

[4] Upon transfer to Camp Beauregard, all National Guard units were stripped of their state designations and re-numbered under a new federal system.

The 39th "Delta" Division was composed of:[6] Sickness was a problem for the National Guard troops while at Camp Beauregard.

[23] In the same month, the town of Alexandria was placed off limits, and soldiers could not visit other regiments because of an outbreak of meningitis.

The soldiers were instructed in the use of deadly gases and then exposed to tear gas, which complicated the health concerns.

[26] Camp Beauregard was struck with Spanish influenza in early October 1918, which led to lobar pneumonia in many patients.

In May 1918, the army offered privates the opportunity to volunteer for duty overseas by agreeing to transfer out of the 39th Division.

[37] The arrangement was supposed to be temporary, and at first only men from infantry and machine gun units served as replacements.

Eventually all divisional personnel were taken, except for one enlisted man per company and one officer per regiment who maintained unit records.

[48] With the war ended, the 153rd Infantry landed in Hoboken, New Jersey, 27 February 1919, making the crossing aboard the USS President Grant.

[49] On 12 April 1919, the transport SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria brought the 64th Field Artillery Brigade and the 141st Machine Gun Battalion of the 39th Division to New York.

[50] The headquarters, ordnance, and medical detachments, and some companies of the 114th Engineers, 39th Division were transported to Newport News, Virginia, on the battleship USS Nebraska.

[51] The 142nd stayed in France to conduct tests and exercises to develop techniques for motorized artillery battalions and won a commendation for efficient performance.

The brigade commander, Brigadier General Ira A. Haynes, was the senior officer of what remained of the 39th Division.

Haynes issued General Order #1, 64th Field Artillery Brigade, on 18 January 1919, which described the insignia and authorized its wear by remaining division personnel.

We take pride in Honoring the State of our origin..." The U.S. Army Adjutant General did not approve the patch, and told Hodges that it would be retained on file, and if the 39th Division were ever activated again, it would be reconsidered.

[44] The World War I patch consisted of a dark blue disc bordered red having upon it a steel gray triangle (the Greek Delta symbol).

The new divisional structure, replacing infantry regiments with anonymous battle groups, threatened to destroy all of these traditions.

Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker settled the question on 24 January 1957 when he approved the Combat Arms Regimental System.

Under the new concept, the Department of the Army assumed control of regimental headquarters – the repository for a unit's lineage, honors, and traditions – and used elements of the regiments to organize battle groups, battalions, squadrons, companies, batteries, and troops, which shared in the history and honors of their parent units.

[60][61] In place of the regiment or brigade, the new pentomic infantry division fielded five battle groups, each containing 1,356 soldiers.

The battle groups of the pentomic division had proved to be unwieldy, and it was felt that their span of control was not sufficient to handle all of the various units and troops assigned to their command.

In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided that 15 combat divisions in the Army National Guard were unnecessary.

Their objections included the inadequate maneuver element mix for those that remained and the end to the practice of rotating divisional commands among the states that supported them.

No reduction, however, in total Army National Guard strength was to take place, which convinced the governors to accept the plan.

[62] The 256th Infantry Brigade (Separate) was composed of the following units: The 39th Division is currently known as the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States), of the Arkansas Army National Guard, headquartered at the Robinson Maneuver Training Center, North Little Rock, Arkansas.