How a platoon, a company, a battalion, a brigade, and a division all fit together — and the island that shaped them all.
This is us. ~30 infantrymen who lived, trained, and deployed together. The core community of njsr — the soldiers in the photos, the names in the roster, the stories being written.
~30 soldiers · njsr.orgOur parent company — one of four rifle companies in the battalion. Charlie Company's veterans formed the Charlie Company Cooperative — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that grew from keeping in touch to a mission of post-traumatic growth.
~130 soldiersThe battalion Charlie Company belongs to. ~600 infantrymen organized into rifle companies. The 35th Infantry has fought from the Arizona borderlands through five wars. Read the full history →
~600 soldiersThe brigade that commands the Cacti battalion. Multiple battalions of infantry, artillery, engineers, and support under one tactical headquarters.
~4,000 soldiersThe division. Headquartered at Schofield Barracks since 1941, Tropic Lightning soldiers have called Oʻahu home through every major conflict from WWII to the GWOT. The taro leaf and lightning bolt aren't just insignia — they're the island that trained us, held our families, and welcomed us back.
~17,000 soldiersEvery Spartan on this site trained at Schofield Barracks on Oʻahu's central plateau. The red dirt, the Koʻolau mountains at sunrise, the shave ice on payday, the sound of artillery echoing off the Waiʻanae range — that was home before deployment and home after. The island shaped who we were before combat, and it was waiting when we came back.
Nā Koa — Hawaiian for "The Warriors" — is the name this site carries not as appropriation but as gratitude. Oʻahu gave us a place to become soldiers and a place to land when it was over. The taro leaf on the 25th Infantry Division's patch represents that deep-rooted connection to the land.
Schofield Barracks was named for Lieutenant General John McAllister Schofield, who recommended establishing a military presence on Oʻahu in 1872. By December 7, 1941, it was the largest Army post in the Pacific — and one of the first targets that morning. The soldiers who serve there today walk the same ground.
charlieco.co is the Spartans' platform — built by a 3rd Platoon veteran to preserve deployment photos, honor the fallen, and equip fellow vets with tools for what comes after service.
charlieco.co is the Charlie Company Cooperative — the nonprofit that grew out of Charlie Company veterans keeping each other right. C3 is the mission hub; njsr is the operational arm.
Cacti History covers the full lineage of the 35th Infantry Regiment, from the Arizona Territory through the GWOT.
The 2026 reunion in Nashville brings together soldiers from across the entire Cacti family — all eras, all companies — but the Spartan push to get 20 of our own there is personal.