193rd Infantry Brigade ( United States ) The 193rd Infantry Brigade is a United States Army infantry brigade , which was originally constituted in the Army ' s organized reserves on 24 June 1922 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 193rd Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 97th Division . The brigade was reorganized and reconstituted in February 1942 as the 97th Reconnaissance Troop , 97th Division . In February 1943 , the Troop was ordered to active military service and organized at Camp Swift , Texas . Reorganized and redesignated October 1945 as the 97th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop . World War II . The 97th Reconnaissance Troop landed at Le Havre , France , 2 March 1945 as part of the 97th Infantry Division . The Division crossed the German border west of Aachen and took up a defensive position along the west bank of the Rhine River opposite Düsseldorf , engaging in patrolling . The division then entered the battle of the Ruhr pocket , crossing the Rhine near Bonn and taking up a position on the southern bank of the Siege River . It crossed that river against light resistance and fought a street - to - street engagement in Siegburg . Pushing on toward Düsseldorf through difficult terrain and heavy resistance in densely wooded areas , the Division captured Solingen . Düsseldorf fell on the next day and the Ruhr pocket was eliminated . 97th Reconnaissance Troop played a vital role in the Ruhr campaign . Besides its customary reconnaissance and patrolling duties , the unit once was charged with protecting the entire left flank of the division . Moving to protect the left flank of the Third Army on its southern drive , the 97th Division took Cheb , Czechoslovakia and attacked the Czechoslovak pocket near Weiden , Germany . It had advanced to Konstantinovy Lazne , Czechoslovakia , when it received the cease - fire order on 7 May 1945 . The Division left for Le Havre , 16 June 1945 , for redeployment to the Pacific , arriving at Cebu , Philippine Islands , 16 September , and then sailed to Japan for occupation duty , arriving at Yokohama 23 September . 97th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop inactivated March 1946 in Japan . ( Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps ; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve . ) Converted and redesignated July 1962 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 193rd Infantry Brigade and relieved from assignment to the 97th Infantry Division . Panama . In 1961 , after the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion and rumors of Soviet assistance to Cuba , Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided to bolster available U . S . Army forces in the Caribbean area . The Army replaced the battle group in the Panama Canal Zone with the 193d Infantry Brigade , which was activated on 8 August 1962 . Through most of the period of its assignment to the Canal Zone , the 193d consisted of 4th Battalion ( Bn ) , 10th Infantry ( " Apaches , " Fort Davis ) , 4th Bn , 20th Infantry ( " Sykes Regulars , " Fort Clayton ) , 3rd Bn , 5th Infantry ( " Red Devils , " Fort Kobbe , which had previously been 1st Battlegroup , 508th Infantry ) , B Battery , 22d Field Artillery ( Fort Kobbe , later B Battery , 320th FA ) , 518th Engineer Company ( Fort Kobbe , later 59th Engineer Company ) , 549th MP Company ( Fort Gulick ) , 534th MP Company ( Fort Clayton ) , the 210th Aviation Bn ( Fort Kobbe ) , the 1097th Boat Company ( Fort Davis ) , and sundry command & control and service support organizations . Additionally , there were other units , such as the School of the Americas ( Fort Gulick ) , 3rd Bn , 7th Special Forces ( Fort Gulick ) , and Jungle Operations Training Center ( Fort Sherman ) that were not assigned to the 193rd but had an habitual relationship and rating scheme for their commanders and / or senior officers tantamount to assignment . There were other units assigned at different times . For example , the brigade had , for most of the 1960s , a mixed HAWK missile and M42 Duster battalion , 4th Battalion , 517th Anti - Aircraft Artillery ( 4 / 517 ) ( A Battery at Fort Davis , Dusters ; B Battery , Fort Clayton , Dusters ; C Battery , HAWKs , Flamenco Island ; and D Battery , HAWK , Fort Sherman ) . The brigade , itself , was also staffed heavily enough as to permit it to command the 92d and 53rd Separate Infantry Brigades from the Puerto Rico and Florida National Guard s , respectively . In 1977 , in order to improve command and control over the numerous combat support and combat service support units , the Brigade stood up the 193rd Combat Support Battalion ( CSB ) . The 193rd CSB commanded a wide variety of units , to include the 193rd Military Intelligence Company ( Combat Electronic Warfare and Intelligence - CEWI ) , the 1097th Medium Boat Company , and even a combat arms artillery unit ( B / 320th FA ) , and other units . In October 1983 , the 1st and 2d Battalions of the 187th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) were assigned to the 193rd Infantry Brigade in Panama , as a result of reflagging 4 / 10 Infantry and 3 / 5 Infantry , respectively . The 2nd / 187th Abn Inf ( L ) started with one airborne company ( Alpha ) within the battalion , and later jump status was expanded to the entire battalion . During a realignment of the United States Army ' s combat forces in 1987 the 1st and 2d Battalions were inactivated in Panama and reactivated at Fort Campbell , KY . 2 / 187th Abn Inf ( L ) was redesignated 1 / 508th Inf . 1st Battalion was redesignated 5 / 87th Inf . Beginning in early 1988 , after the first coup attempt against Noriega failed , life for the soldiers and families of the Brigade became increasingly difficult , as civil unrest in Panama City and harassment by the Panama Defense Force made life difficult . Movements off post were often restricted , armed confrontations occurred frequently and quality of life declined . Panamanian provocations , intended to deny freedom of movement rights that were guaranteed by treaty , steadily escalated . Americans were increasingly detained without charges and held without communication . At one point , several school buses full of dependent children on the way to school were commandeered by the PDF and held for hours . This harassment culminated after the abortive Panamanian elections during the summer of 1989 , when all off - post personnel were moved on - post , resulting in families having to double or triple up in on - post quarters . As part of the fall - out from the aborted Panamanian elections , the Army sent a package of augmentation forces to Panama ( Operation NIMROD DANCER ) - which included a mechanized battalion from the 5th Infantry Division ( Mechanized ) , based at Fort Polk , Louisiana ; this battalion was attached to the Brigade , forming Task Force Bayonet . Later in the fall of 1989 , the Brigade instituted an intensive training program to prepare for combat operations , which seemed increasingly likely after the failure of the second coup , in October . In December 1989 , two years of diplomatic tension between Panama and the United States came to a head . In a speech to a gathering of his supporters , General Manuel Noriega – the head of the PDF and de facto dictator of Panama – declared that a state of war existed between the United States and Panama . This might well have been dismissed as simply more of his defiant , anti - US rhetoric , were it not for two events that followed within a matter of hours . A U . S . Marine officer was shot and killed at a PDF checkpoint , and then a U . S . Navy officer and his wife in the following car were arrested , taken to the Commandancia and beaten and abused for several hours . In light of this series of events , President George Bush ordered the invasion of Panama , codenamed Operation Just Cause , to protect American lives and property , and to permit the inauguration of the winners of the previous summer ' s elections . Operation JUST CAUSE . The mission of the 193d , tactically organized as Task Force Bayonet , was twofold . The defensive component required the protection of an extensive complex of US military bases , family housing tracts and Panama Canal Commission facilities that stretched over an area of 20 kilometers . This included protection of the vital Miraflores and Pedro Miguel lock complexes . Simultaneously , the Brigade was responsible for an offensive area of operations that encompassed half of Panama City and its 1 . 1 million inhabitants . Within this area , the Brigade ' s initial offensive task was to isolate and eliminate all PDF units ( police , military and para - military ) in the areas Fort Amador , Ancon Hill , Balboa , and Chorrillo . Of primary importance was the Commandancia , which was to taken in a coup de main . Other objectives within this area included : the PDF ’ s Engineer Battalion compound , that part of Fort Amador occupied by the PDF 5th Company and the Panamanian Army headquarters ; the Balboa and Ancon DENI ( Panama ’ s National Defense of Investigations ) and Balboa Department of Transportation ( DNTT ) stations . Although the 193d Infantry Brigade ( Light ) was , by TO & E , only a small brigade , as a result of various augmentations leading up to JUST CAUSE , in its role as TF Bayonet it ended up being the largest brigade - sized task force in JUST CAUSE . The various units that comprised TF Bayonet on D - Day were : Note that TF Bayonet had neither an organic forward support battalion nor normal combat service support units , as was doctrine at the time . Limited support was provided by the 41st Area Support Group ( which had theater - wide responsibilities ) , but lacking a dedicated Forward Support Battalion , the Brigade ' s logistical support operations were significantly strained . A fifth maneuver battalion had originally been slated for TF Bayonet , for the purpose of having a two - battalion attack at the Commandancia – which was to be the main attack of JUST CAUSE . However , JTF - SOUTH reallocated this battalion to the other side of the Isthmus . Ironically , as JTF - SOUTH was doing this , Noriega was beefing up defenses at the Commandancia . Half of the PDF 6th Company , most of the PDF 7th Company and elements of the PDF Bn 2000 were moved to the Commandancia in the two months leading up to JUST CAUSE , replacing the unit that had led the second coup attempt . At 1800 hours , 19 December 1989 , TF Bayonet received from JTF - SOUTH the order to execute Operation JUST CAUSE , with an H - Hour of 0100 hours , 20 December . Because the JUST CAUSE OPLAN had been classified at the top secret level , only a small number of the Brigade ' s leaders were familiar with its contents . After combat operation ceased , a political decision to rapidly drawdown US forces to their pre - invasion levels had an unexpected impact on the 193d ; in order to reach that level , USSOUTHCOM directed that the Brigade ' s artillery battery be deactivated and its personnel – and their families – be immediately shipped out of country . During this period TF Bayonet became what is believed to be the largest combat brigade - sized unit in post - WWII history , controlling at one period seven infantry battalions – just two shy of what a full division commanded at the time . It managed this task – over the extreme distances noted above – without the benefit of a dedicated support battalion , and the logistical improvisation required was little short of genius . Within several more months , the rest of the augmentation forces were withdrawn . The 193rd Infantry Brigade however , remained in Panama and continued to provide a military presence . On 14 October 1994 after more than 32 years of providing ground defense for Panama , 193rd Infantry Brigade was ' honored ' as the first major unit to inactivate in accordance with the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 , treaty implementation plan , which mandated U . S . Forces withdrawal from Panama by December 1999 . Current mission . On 31 January 2007 , the 193rd Infantry Brigade was reactivated at Fort Jackson , South Carolina with the mission to conduct basic combat training for new entrants to the Army . It has replaced the 171st Infantry Brigade in this task ; however both the 193d and 171st have a headquarters and personnel on post .