2nd Brigade , 7th Infantry Division ( United States ) The 2nd Brigade , 7th Infantry Division , originally known as the 13th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the United States Army , and a part of the 7th Infantry Division . The brigade was based at Fort Ord , California for most of its history . Activated for service in World War I , the unit saw brief service in the conflict , but never fought as an entire unit . After the Korean War , it was reactivated as a brigade , and was returned to the United States where it saw action in Operation Just Cause and Operation Golden Pheasant . The 2nd Brigade is known for having been sent to quell civil unrest resulting from the 1992 Los Angeles Riots . The brigade was finally deactivated in 1993 . History . World War I . The 2nd Brigade , 7th Infantry Division was first constituted and activated in the regular army as the 13th Infantry Brigade on 6 December 1917 at Camp Wheeler , Georgia . One month later it organized and prepared for deployment to Europe to participate in World War I as a part of the American Expeditionary Force , along with the rest of the division . The 13th Infantry Brigade was one of two brigades assigned to the division headquarters , the other being the 14th Infantry Brigade . Serving within the brigade were the 35th Infantry Regiment and the 55th Infantry Regiment , bringing the total strength of the brigade to around 8 , 000 men . Most of the brigade sailed to Europe aboard the SS " Leviathan " . During its time in France , the brigade did not participate as a whole in any engagements , though its infantry and reconnaissance elements did engage German forces . On 11 October 1918 the 13th Brigade and 7th Division first came under shell ing attacks . At Saint - Mihiel the units also came under chemical attack . Elements of the 7th probed up toward Prény near the Moselle River , capturing positions and driving German forces out of the region . It was around this time that the division first received its shoulder sleeve insignia , which the 13th Brigade wore as a part of the division . In early November , the 13th Brigade began readying itself for an attack on the Hindenburg Line with the division , which was part of the Second Army . The division launched a reconnaissance in force on the Voëvre Plain , but before it could begin a full assault , the Allies signed an Armistice ending hostilities . After 33 days on the front lines , the 7th Division suffered 1 , 988 casualties . It was awarded one campaign streamer for Lorraine . The brigade performed occupation duties for the next year as it began preparations to return to the continental United States . The 13th Brigade returned to the United States in late 1919 , and gradually demobilized at Camp George G . Meade , Maryland until 1921 . On 22 September of that year , the Headquarters Company , 7th Division was inactivated , and the 13th and 14th Brigades deactivated with it . Reorganization . On 1 July 1940 , the 7th Infantry Division was reactivated at Camp Ord , California Under the command of Major General Joseph W . Stilwell . The Headquarters element , 13th and 14th Brigades did not reactivate , however , and the division was instead centered around three infantry regiments ; the 17th Infantry Regiment , the 32nd Infantry Regiment , and the 53rd Infantry Regiment . The 13th Brigade was not activated for the duration of the war and its headquarters formation was not used to form a new unit . Post Korean War history . In the wake of the Korean War , between 1953 to 1971 , the 7th Infantry Division defended the Korean Demilitarized Zone . Its main garrison was Camp Casey , South Korea . During these occupation duties , the division saw a complete reorganization in compliance with the Reorganization Objective Army Divisions plan . In 1963 , the division ' s former headquarters company grew into the 1st Brigade , 7th Infantry Division while the 13th Infantry Brigade became the 2nd Brigade , 7th Infantry Division . The 14th Infantry Brigade redesignated at the 3rd Brigade , 7th Infantry Division . These renamed formations retained all of the lineage and campaign credits of their previous designations . On 2 April 1971 , the division and its brigades returned to the United States and inactivated at Fort Lewis , Washington . In October 1974 the 7th and two brigades reactivated at their former garrison , Fort Ord ( a National Guard " roundout " brigade , the 41st , would periodically train with the division as its third brigade ) . The unit did not see any action in Vietnam or during the post war era , but was tasked to keep a close watch on South American developments . It trained at Fort Ord , Camp Roberts , and Fort Hunter Liggett . On 1 October 1985 the division redesignated as the 7th Infantry Division ( Light ) , organized again as a light infantry division . It was the first US division specially designed as such . The various battalions of the 17th , 31st , and 32nd Regiments moved from the division , replaced by battalions from other regiments , including battalions from the 21st Infantry Regiment , the 27th Infantry Regiment , and the 9th Infantry Regiment . The 27th Infantry and the 9th Infantry Regiment participated in Operation Golden Pheasant in Honduras . In 1989 the 2nd Brigade , 7th Infantry Division participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama . In 1991 the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the closing of Fort Ord due to the escalating cost of living on the Central California coastline . By 1994 , the garrison was closed and the Division was assigned to relocate to Fort Lewis , Washington . The 2nd Brigade , to include its Headquarters and Headquarters Company along with the 3rd Brigade ' s 3rd Battalion 17th Infantry Regiment and other assigned military police companies participated in one final mission in the United States before inactivation ; quelling the 1992 Los Angeles Riots , called Operation Garden Plot . In 1993 the division was slated to move to Fort Lewis , WA and inactivate as part of the post - Cold War drawdown of the US Army , but the 2nd and 3rd Brigades of the 7th inactivated at Ft . Ord in 1993 . The 1st Brigade relocated to Ft . Lewis and was later reflagged as the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division while the division headquarters formally inactivated on 16 June 1994 at Fort Lewis .