History of:
USAWOA
Warrant Officer Corps.
172nd Infantry Brigade
2nd
Stryker Cavalry Regiment
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172nd Infantry Brigade
What today is known as the 172d
Infantry Brigade was first constituted on
August 5, 1917 in the
National Army as the 172nd Infantry Brigade,
organized on the 25th of
that month at Camp Grant, in Rockford, Illinois
and assigned to the 86th
Infantry Division. As part of the 86th Division it
arrived in Bordeaux,
France, for combat duty in September 1918 and after
serving in World War I it
was demobilized in January 1919 at Camp Grant.
On June 24, 1921 the unit
was reconstituted in the Organized Reserves as
Headquarters and
Headquarters Company, 172nd Infantry Brigade, and
again assigned to the
86th Division. It was organized in January 1922 at
Springfield, Illinois and
went through several re-designations, including on
March 23, 1925, as
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172nd
Brigade, and August 24,
1936 as Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, 172nd Infantry
Brigade.
The Headquarters and
Headquarters Company, 172nd Infantry Brigade was
converted and
re-designated the 3rd Platoon, 86th Reconnaissance Troop, 86th
Division on March 31, 1942, while her sister unit, the
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 171st Infantry Brigade,
became the remainder of the 86th Reconnaissance Troop.
On December 15, 1942 the troop was mobilized and reorganized at
Camp Howze, in Gainesville, Texas, as the 86th Cavalry
Reconnaissance Troop, only to be reorganized and re-designated
again on August 5, 1943 as the 86th Reconnaissance Troop,
Mechanized. For the majority of the US involvement in World War
II it remained stateside, participating in the Third Army #5
Louisiana Maneuvers in 1943, among other exercises until finally
staging at Camp Miles Standish, at Boston, Massachusetts on
February 5, 1945 and shipping out from the Boston on February
19, 1945.
The 86th Reconnaissance Troop arrived in France on March 1, 1945,
acclimated and trained, and then moved to Koln, Germany, and
participated in the relief of the 8th Infantry Division in
defensive positions near Weiden which on March 28 -29, 1945 and
found itself at Salzburg on May 7, 1945. It was then sent back
stateside to prepare for operation in the Pacific, arriving back
in New York City on June 17, 1945, and proceeded to Fort Gruber
in Braggs, Oklahoma before staging at Camp Stoneman at
Pittsburg, California, on August 14, 1945. The unit shipped out
from San Francisco on August 21, 1945 and arrived in the
Philippines on September 7, 1945, five days after the Japanese
surrender.
On October 10, 1945 the
86th Reconnaissance Troop, (Mechanized) was again re-designated
the 86th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop before finally being
inactivated on December 30, 1946 while still stationed in the
Philippines. However the 86th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop
was reactivated again on July 9, 1952 as part of the Army
Reserve. Finally on May 20, 1963 the 3rd Platoon, 86th
Reconnaissance Troop was converted and re-designated as the
172nd Infantry Brigade, relieved from assignment to the 86th
Infantry Division, and allotted to the Regular Army.
The 172nd Brigade was
designated a Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD), and
was activated on 1 July 1963 at Fort Richardson, Alaska with one
Light Infantry Battalion; one Mechanized Infantry Battalion; and
one Tank Company. Its shoulder sleeve insignia was authorized
for use on August 28, 1963 and its distinctive unit insignia was
authorized on June 8, 1966. The Brigade was reorganized from
Mechanized Infantry to Light Infantry on June 30, 1969, with a
reduction to 2 Mechanized Infantry Battalions. In 1974 the 172nd
Infantry Brigade was reorganized again to include
three Light Infantry
Battalions, and once more in 1978 to a structure that included
one Infantry Battalion, one Mechanized Infantry Battalion, and
one Tank Battalion before it was finally deactivated on April
15, 1986 at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
On April 17, 1998, the
U.S. Army reactivated the "172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate)"
and reflagged the 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Division as that
unit was headquartered at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. In August
2005, the 172nd Infantry Brigade deployed to Iraq in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit deployed to Mosul, Iraq. Its
tour was to have ended on July 27, 2006, but the U.S. Army
unexpectedly extended its deployment until the end of November
2006.
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Reference:
The 172nd Infantry Brigade Website |
The 172nd Infantry Brigade Website
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