172nd Infantry Brigade (United States)

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Shoulder badge of the 172nd US Infantry Brigade

The 172nd Infantry Brigade ( German  172nd US Infantry Brigade ) (Blackhawk Brigade) was an independent Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) of the US Army . The brigade was part of the United States Army Europe and one of only three active, independent combat brigades in the Army. It was therefore not subordinate to any association at division level , but directly to the V US Corps in Wiesbaden .

history

Blackhawks unit badge since 1966: CAVEAT - Let Him Beware .
COL Jeffrey A. Sinclair and CSM Steven W. McClaflin during the Vanguard Brigade's change of command, December 18, 2008

The association was first set up in August 1917 as part of the National Army and placed under the 86th Infantry Division . The brigade reached France in September 1918, but there is no record of taking part in combat operations in the First World War . In the interwar period, the brigade was still part of the 86th Division, thus a training unit as part of the reserve , and stationed in Springfield , Illinois. In 1939 all brigades of the US Army were disbanded and only the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) remained. The HHC of the 172nd Brigade was converted into a reconnaissance platoon within the 86th Infantry Division in 1942 and lived with this during the last days of the war in Europe, when the division replaced the 8th US Infantry Division , albeit exclusively in a defensive position. When the division was finally relocated to the Pacific after a brief return to the USA in September 1945, the capitulation of Japan had already been signed and the end of the war had been sealed.

In the following years, the brigade was set up again in 1963 and assigned as an independent unit to the Regular Army , before it was temporarily deactivated in Fort Richardson , Alaska in April 1986 , with the previously subordinate battalions of the 6th US Infantry Division being incorporated. The association did not take part in the wars in Korea and Vietnam .

On April 17, 1998, the brigade - the first of the re-formed independent brigades of the US Army - was activated as the 172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) in Fort Wainwright, Alaska. An airborne battalion and two infantry battalions of the 2nd Infantry Division were subordinated to the association. As a “theater defense brigade”, it should be available as a reaction force for Alaska and the North Pacific.

As part of the implementation of the 1997 Army Reform , the 172nd Infantry Brigade was converted to a Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT). The brigade received more than 300 Stryker wheeled armored vehicles and some unmanned aerial vehicles as a flying reconnaissance component. This restructuring should give the brigade more mobility and reduce the logistical effort. The transformation was completed on October 16, 2003, making the brigade the third Stryker Brigade in the US Army. In the spring of 2005, the commander changed the brigade's motto from Snow Hawks to Arctic Wolves .

Operation Iraqi Freedom 2005/06

In August 2005 the brigade was transferred to Mosul in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The mission, which was originally supposed to end on July 27, 2006, lasted until November 2006. During this time, the brigade moved to Baghdad . With a deployment duration of 16 months, this was the longest deployment of a US Army unit since the Vietnam War . Recognizing gave General George W. Casey unit the Valorous Unit Award , the second highest unit award of the Army. During the operation, 26 soldiers were killed and 350 soldiers of the brigade were injured. After returning from extended missions from Baghdad, on December 14, 2006, the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team was officially renamed 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division .

reactivation

After this quasi-deactivation in December 2006, the brigade was reactivated on March 16, 2008 as the 172nd Infantry Brigade in Schweinfurt , where it replaced the 2nd Brigade of the 1st US Infantry Division in Germany. Equipment and vehicles as well as personnel were retained. The brigade's motto since then has been “Blackhawks”. Most of the association was relocated to Grafenwöhr by the end of 2008 .

Operation Iraqi Freedom 2008-09

At the end of November 2008, the brigade was relocated to Kuwait and later to Iraq as part of the Multi-National Force Iraq . At the end of December 2008, the brigade finally took command of the Forward Operating Base Kalsu south of Baghdad, replacing the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Vanguard) of the 3rd US Infantry Division . The Blackhawk Brigade was responsible for an area the size of Switzerland. Their main task was to rebuild and support local government agencies. The duration of the assignment was set at twelve months. In autumn 2009 the brigade was gradually moved back to Germany.

Withdrawal from Europe and dissolution

The brigade was scheduled to return to the United States in 2012 and be reorganized as the 7th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division on the White Sands Missile Range , New Mexico . However, as part of the defense budget austerity efforts, the brigade was disbanded in October 2013.

organization

Organizational structure of the brigade

As of March 16, 2008, the brigade consisted of six battalions and three independent companies .

  • Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172nd Infantry Brigade ( Grafenwoehr )
  • 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry (Grafenwoehr)
  • 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry (Schweinfurt / Grafenwöhr)
  • 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor (Grafenwoehr)
  • 9th Engineer Battalion (Schweinfurt)
  • 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery (Schweinfurt / Grafenwöhr)
  • 172nd Support Battalion (Schweinfurt / Grafenwöhr)
  • Troop E, 5th Cavalry (Grafenwohr)
  • 57th Signal Company (Grafenwoehr)
  • 504th Military Intelligence Company (Grafenwoehr)

After returning from Iraq, all of the troops remaining in Schweinfurt were gradually to be relocated to Grafenwoehr.

Web links

Commons : 172nd Infantry Brigade  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ United States Army, V Corps, Organization ( Memento from January 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), homepage of the V US Corps
  2. ↑ 172nd Stryker Brigade Legacy to Live on as Unit 'Reflags,' Gets New Commanders , American Forces Press Service, December 15, 2006
  3. ↑ Army Prepares for Fall 2008 Active-duty Rotations in Iraq , army.mil/news release, May 28, 2008.
  4. ↑ 172nd Reflagged. Retrieved May 24, 2014 .
  5. ↑ TENANT UNITS as of 2 Feb 2009 ( Memento of the original from October 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 130 kB), Plans, Analysis and Integration Office, US Army Garrison Grafenwöhr @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.grafenwoehr.army.mil
  6. ↑ 172nd Infantry Brigade ships tanks, gear for deployment , Stars and Stripes , October 28, 2008
  7. ↑ 172nd Infantry takes over in Iraqi area. In: The Stars and Stripes . December 27, 2008, accessed August 19, 2019 .
  8. ^ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Vanguard Brigade transfers authority to the 172nd Infantry Brigade , Task Force Mountain, December 27, 2008@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.taskforcemountain.com
  9. ^ DOD announces plans to adjust posture of land forces in Europe. (PDF; 43 Kb) In: media.defense.gov. US Army Europe Public Affairs, February 16, 2012, accessed August 19, 2019 .
  10. ↑ News Release. (PDF; 429 Kb) Army Announces Next Steps in USAREUR Transformation. In: media.defense.gov. HQ US ARMY EUROPE & 7TH ARMY - Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, Heidelberg, March 6, 2008, accessed on August 19, 2019 .