27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team ( United States ) The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team ( " Empire " ) is an infantry brigade of the New York Army National Guard , one of the brigades that make up the 42nd Infantry Division . Mission . The state mission of the 27th Infantry Brigade is to maintain a manned , trained and equipped force capable of rapid deployment to any area within New York to aid civil authorities . Operations may consist of assistance for natural disaster s , civil disturbance s and other emergency situation s beyond the capabilities of civil authorities . History . Composition of the Twenty - Seventh Division in WWI : Between the wars . After the war the 27th was reactivated back in the New York National Guard for peace time service , climaxed by participation in the First Army maneuvers of 1940 . Composition of the Twenty - Seventh Division between the Wars World War II . The 27th Infantry Division was federalized for service on October 15 , 1940 and initially commanded by Major General William Haskell . At this time it still retained its WWI organization of two brigades and four regiments . The 53rd Brigade consisted of the 105th and 106th Infantry regiments while the 54th Brigade contained the 108th and 165th Infantry regiments . Following a lengthy period of maneuvers and training , the 27th was ordered to California in December following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor . While in California the 27th awaited orders to ship out and concentrated on bringing itself up to the authorized field strength of 1 , 012 officers and 21 , 314 enlisted men . The division ’ s strength had been reduced by discharges to around 14 , 000 men . The first elements of the division boarded ships bound for Hawaii on February 27 , 1942 , the first Infantry Division to leave the states following Pearl Harbor . The division remained on Hawaii for a number of months , during which time it was triangularized , with the 108th Infantry regiment being reassigned to the 40th Division . A division that has been triangularized has been given three infantry regiments instead of the four of a square division . This final reorganization dismantled the brigade structure and again dropped the division ’ s strength to 14 , 000 men . Following the reorganization , the 27th Division was shifted to Oahu , where it would relieve the 25th Infantry Division , which was slated to join the U . S forces fighting in Guadalcanal . For most of its time in Hawaii , the 27th was under the command of Brigadier General Ralph Pennel . On November 20 , 1942 , the 27th Infantry Division embarked on its first combat assignment , the capture of the coral atoll of Makin . The 27th also had a new division commander , Major General Ralph Smith . Units from the 27th Division also occupied the Majuro atoll on February 1 , 1944 and successfully assaulted Eniwetok Island on February 19 of the same year . In June 1944 , the division landed on Saipan , where its regiments fought together for the first time as a full division . Following Saipan the division was rested and reinforced at Espirto Santo for seven months before any further operations . During this time the 27th received its final division commander , Major General George Griner Jr . On April 12 , 1945 the division landed on Okinawa , where it would remain until September when it was sent to Japan briefly for garrison duty . The division was mustered out in late December of the same year . Since its arrival in the Pacific , the 27th Infantry Division had suffered 1 , 512 killed in action , 4 , 980 wounded in action and 332 who later succumbed to their wounds . General Smith had been removed from command following a dispute with the aggressive and eccentric Marine commander , General Holland “ Howling Mad ” Smith who had been in overall command of the Saipan invasion . Holland Smith claimed that Ralph Smith had disregarded orders and mishandled the 27th Division , prompting the relief order . Later court of inquiry showed that the charges were for the most part unsubstantiated and General Ralph Smith was quickly given a new command . The 27th returned to the states for deactivation in December 1945 , the longest serving National Guard unit . Composition of the Twenty - Seventh Division in WWII From soon after World War II to 1967 - 68 the 27th Infantry Division remained active in the National Guard . Reduction to brigade , 1967 - 68 . In 1967 - 68 the division was reduced to become a brigade of the 50th Armored Division . Composition of the Twenty - Seventh Brigade , 50th Armored Division 1968 : Brigade : Headquarters & Headquarters Co . Combat Units : 1 / 127 AR , 1 / 174 INF , 1 / 108 INF , Trp B - 5 Sqdn / 117th Cavalry Regiment , 1 / 156 FA Cbt Support : Co C / 104 Engr , Co C / 50th Med Bn . , Co C / 50th Maint Bn . , Det 1 - Co B / 250th S & T Bn , 127th QM Det . Conversion to light infantry . The 27th Brigade was reconstituted as a Separate Infantry Brigade ( Light ) in the 1980s and was originally established as a " round - out " brigade to the Army ’ s 10th Mountain Division ( Light Infantry ) at Fort Drum . In the 1990s , the Army National Guard nationwide was reorganized and the 27th was established as one of 15 separate “ Enhanced ” brigades , subject to priority call up in the event of a federal mobilization . In 1998 , the 27th Brigade was committed to disaster recovery operations in the New York ’ s North Country following a devastating ice storm which struck in January . The 27th was called again for state emergency response in the wake of a destructive wind storm which struck Syracuse on Labor Day that year forcing an early close to the New York State Fair . In the summer of 2001 , the 27th Brigade deployed for an intense three - week training period at the U . S . Army ’ s Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk , LA . Nearly 4 , 000 Soldier for the New York Army National Guard participated , making it the largest single exercise for the New York National Guard since World War II . The terrorist attacks of 9 - 11 , 2001 struck within weeks of the units return home . Following extensive state and federal active duty for Home Land Defense in response to the terrorist attacks of 9 - 11 , 2001 subordinate units of the 27th underwent individual call ups for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 . In 2006 , following the return of most New York National guard units from federal Active Duty in Iraq , the New York Army National Guard was “ re - set ” and the 27th was reorganized as an Infantry Brigade Combat Team . The Brigade was formed when the 27th Infantry Division was deactivated in 1967 . ( However , a previous 27th Brigade was active from Jul 1918 – Feb 1919 as part of the 14th Division , comprising the 10th and 77th Regiments . ) On 1 October 2003 elements from the 27th were mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . Comprising the 2 – 108 Infantry ( with volunteers from the 1 – 108 and 1 – 105 Infantry battalions ) , C 427 Support , 827 Engineers and FSTs from 1 – 156 Artillery , Task Force Hunter deployed into Iraq in Feb 2004 after pre - deployment training at Fort Drum , New York and Fort Polk , Louisiana . On 1 August 2007 , the unit was redesignated as the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team , as part of the Army ' s move to a " modular " force , and it lost its former status as a separate brigade . Retaining its historic shoulder patch - from the 27th Infantry Division ( United States ) - , the 27th became , once again , a component of the 42nd Infantry Division . Until then it had been designated the 27th Infantry Brigade ( Light ) and had been one of the fifteen " enhanced brigades " found in the Army National Guard ' s force structure . From 1985 until 2005 , the 27th had also been the " round - out " brigade of the Regular Army ' s 10th Mountain Division ( Light Infantry ) , based in upstate New York at Fort Drum . It lost this mission when the 10th added its 3rd and 4th Brigades , composed of active - duty Regulars , during its own reorganization . On 27 September 2007 advanced elements from the 27th , primarily composed of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry and 1st Battalion 69th Infantry , as well as volunteers from 2nd Battalion 101st Cavalry began shipping out from New York State to Fort Bragg for pre - deployment training and exercises prior to a combat deployment in Afghanistan . The main Brigade Element mobilized on 16 January 2008 . After conducting mobilization training at Fort Bragg , NC they deployed to Afghanistan beginning in March , 2008 . In Afghanistan , the 27th consisted of only two battalions : a Security Forces ( SECFOR ) battalion and the Logistics Task Force ( LTF ) and was primarily responsible for the physical security of various base camps and operating bases . Individuals were " sliced " off of their parent units and assigned to Police Mentor Teams ( PMTs ) or to Embedded Training Teams ( ETTs ) while the bulk of the 27th conducted security operations from their FOBs . It resulted in 27th Brigade Soldiers serving in nearly every corner of the war - torn country . The SECFOR battalion was built around the 2nd Squadron of the 101st Cavalry Regiment . The LTF conducted logistics support throughout the Task Force Phoenix area of operation and supported Civil Military Operations throughout the country . They were in - country for roughly nine months . The 27th BCT took command of Task Force Phoenix on 26 April 2008 from the 218th BCT , South Carolina Army National Guard . They were relieved on 19 December 2008 by the 33rd BCT , Illinois Army National Guard . The 27th BCT will be mobilizing in 2012 for Camp Shelby Mississippi , and will be leaving for the Middle East not long after . In popular fiction . The military units depicted in the movie Cloverfield are members of the 27th Infantry Brigade . The military units in the movie " I Am Legend " are members of the 27th Infantry Brigade , specifically the 1st Battalion , 69th Infantry Regiment .