1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team History

By U.S. ArmyMay 24, 2016

Constituted and organized in 1917 as Headquarters, 167th Infantry Brigade, 84th Division. Converted and re-designated in 1942 as the 84th Reconnaissance Troop (less 3rd Platoon), 84th Division. The 84th Infantry Division entered combat in Holland in November 1944. In response to the German counterattack in the Ardennes the 84th was shifted to Belgium to help stop the German advance. Driving into Germany and meeting strong German resistance the 84th crossed the Roer and Rhine Rivers advancing to the Elbe River and linking up with Soviet forces on 2 May 1945. The 84th Reconnaissance Troop was inactivated in 1946 and reactivated in 1947 as the 84th Reconnaissance Platoon (later Company). 84th Reconnaissance Company disbanded in 1959. Concurrently reconstituted (less 3rd Platoon) in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 167th Infantry Brigade. Re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division and activated 26 August 1963 at Schofield Barracks. Arriving in Vietnam on 29 April 1966, the 1st Brigade was based initially at Cu Chi and participated in all twelve campaigns of the 25th Division receiving a Valorous Unit Award for Tay Ninh Province. The battalions serving with the 1st Brigade were the 4/9th Infantry, 2/14th Infantry (until Feb. 1970), 3/22nd Infantry (from Feb 1970) and 4/23rd Infantry (Mechanized). The 1st Brigade departed Vietnam on 8 December 1970. The 1st Brigade was stationed at Schofield Barracks from 1971 until reassigned to Fort Lewis Washington in 1995. In early 2002 the 1st Brigade began its conversion from a light infantry brigade to a Stryker brigade. It achieved combat-ready status in mid-2004 and began a one-year tour of duty in Iraq in September 2004. The 1st Brigade distinguished itself in the conduct of extensive combat operations against insurgent forces as well as in stability initiatives in and around the city of Mosul. For its conduct of combat operations in Iraq the 1st Brigade and its subordinate units received a Valorous Unit Award and campaign participation credit for the Iraqi Governance campaign. The brigade returned to Fort Lewis in September 2005. On 1 June 2006 the 1st Brigade Combat Team and its subordinate units were inactivated and their personnel and equipment transferred to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Stryker). On 16 December 2006 the 1st Brigade Combat Team (Stryker) was reactivated at Fort Wainwright, Alaska using the personnel and equipment of the inactivating 172nd Infantry Brigade (Stryker). In September 2008 the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team began a twelve-month tour of duty in Iraq. The 1st SBCT, stationed in Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad, served in the Multi National Division-North's Task Force Lightning. The brigade successfully conducted combat operations in partnership with Iraqi security forces against insurgent elements as well as implementing numerous civil action projects aimed at improving the quality of life within the province. The 1st SBCT earned participation credit for the Iraqi Surge and Iraqi Sovereignty campaigns and returned to Fort Wainwright in September 2009. From May 2011 to May 2012 the 1st SBCT was deployed to southern Afghanistan for the first time. During the twelve month deployment the 1st SBCT was based in Kandahar Province. Partnered with the Afghan 1st Brigade, 205th Atal Corps as well as Afghan police elements, the capabilities of the 1st SBCT significantly enabled Afghan and ISAF forces to conduct offensive operations that resulted in a major reduction of insurgent attacks in the province. For its Afghanistan service the 1st SBCT received campaign participation credit for the Consolidation III and Transition I campaigns.

Headquarters and Headquarters Company,

1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division Lineage

Constituted 5 August 1917 in the National Army as Headquarters, 167th Infantry Brigade, and assigned to the 84th Division

Organized 25 August 1917 at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky

Demobilized in February 1919 at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky

Reconstituted 24 June 1921 in the Organized Reserves as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 167th Infantry Brigade, and assigned to the 84th Division

Organized in November 1921 in southern Indiana

Redesignated 23 March 1925 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 167th Brigade

Redesignated 24 August 1936 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 167th Infantry Brigade

Converted and redesignated 23 February 1942 as the 84th Reconnaissance Troop (less 3d Platoon), 84th Division (Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 168th Infantry Brigade, concurrently converted and redesignated as the 3d Platoon, 84th Reconnaissance Troop, 84th Division)

Troop ordered into active military service 15 October 1942 and reorganized at Camp Howze, Texas as the 84th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, an element of the 84th Infantry Division

Reorganized and redesignated 12 August 1943 as the 84th Reconnaissance Troop, Mechanized

Inactivated 24 January 1946 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey

Redesignated 19 December 1946 as the 84th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Platoon, an element of the 84th Airborne Division

Activated 11 June 1947 at Madison, Wisconsin

(Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve)

Reorganized and redesignated 6 April 1948 as the Reconnaissance Platoon, 84th Airborne Division

Reorganized and redesignated 29 March 1951 as the 84th Airborne Reconnaissance Company, an element of the 84th Airborne Division

Reorganized and redesignated 1 March 1952 as the 84th Reconnaissance Company, an element of the 84th Infantry Division; location concurrently changed to Appleton, Wisconsin

Location changed 18 May 1953 to Wausau, Wisconsin

Disbanded 18 May 1959 at Wausau, Wisconsin; concurrently reconstituted (less 3d Platoon) in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 167th Infantry Brigade (3d Platoon, 84th Reconnaissance Company - hereafter separate lineage)

Redesignated 21 June 1963 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division

Activated 26 August 1963 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

Reorganized and redesignated 27 July 2005 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

Inactivated 1 June 2006 at Fort Lewis, Washington

Activated 16 December 2006 at Fort Wainwright, Alaska