9th Brigade ( Australia ) The 9th Brigade is an Reserve formation of the Australian Army headquartered at Keswick Barracks in Keswick , South Australia , with elements located in Tasmania , South Australia , New South Wales and the Northern Territory . History . The 9th Brigade was originally formed as part of the First Australian Imperial Force for service during the First World War . Consisting of four infantry battalions — the 33rd , 34th , 35th and 36th Battalions — the brigade was formed in 1916 and attached to the 3rd Division . After training in Australia , the brigade was shipped to England before being committed to the fighting on the Western Front in France and Belgium in November 1916 . Its first major battle came mid - 1917 when it took part in the Battle of Messines . Later in the year , it fought during the Battle of Passchendaele before taking part in defensive operations during the German Spring Offensive in early 1918 . In April it was involved in the Allied counterattack at the First Battle of Villers - Bretonneux before taking part in the final offensive of the war , the Hundred Days Offensive . During this time , the 9th Brigade ' s casualties had been so high , that one of its battalions — the 36th — had to be disbanded in order to reinforce the others . Following the end of hostilities the brigade was disbanded in 1919 , however , in 1921 when it was re - raised as part of the Citizens Military Force following the decision to re - organise Australia ' s part - time military forces in order to perpetuate the numerical designations and traditions of the AIF . Upon the outbreak of the Second World War , the brigade was attached to the 2nd Infantry Division and was based in New South Wales . Initially it consisted of four infantry battalions — the 1st , 4th , 17th and 45th Battalions — although as the war progressed its establishment was reduced as units were transferred to other formations . As a whole , the brigade did not see active service during the war and was disbanded in July 1944 . Following the end of the war , the Citizens Military Force was not re - established until 1948 , when it was re - raised on a reduced establishment . Since then the brigade has been a Reserve formation , although at times its designation has been changed ; from the mid - 1960s to the mid - 1970s it adopted the title of the 9th Task Force . The current 9th Brigade was raised on 1 February 1988 in Land Command . On 1 September 1994 the Brigade moved from under command of Land Headquarters to form part of the 2nd Division and today is based in South Australia . In November 2008 , 9th Brigade mounted Rotation 17 to the Solomon Islands under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Russ Lowes , in support of Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands ( RAMSI ) . Rotation 17 completed their deployment and returned to Adelaide on 5 April 2009 . 9th Brigade also provides the Australian Army with a Reserve Response Force and a High Readiness Reserve Combat Team which are capable of deployment at short notice with Regular Army Units or in support of civilian agencies . Brigadier Steven Smith , AM , CSC , RFD , commanded the 9th Brigade between January 2008 and December 2010 . Warrant Officer Class One ( WO1 ) Jeffrey Carthew was the Brigade RSM between January 2009 and December 2010 . Current structure . 9th Brigade consists of :