53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team ( United States ) The 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team is a modular infantry brigade of the Florida Army National Guard . The 53rd Infantry Brigade is the largest National Guard unit in the state of Florida . The brigade was one of fifteen enhanced readiness brigades , designed and trained to support active duty divisions . The brigade includes 32 units in Florida with 4 , 166 authorized personnel . History . The 53rd Infantry Brigade was originally part of the 27th Infantry Division , from November 1917 to 1919 . When the 48th Armored Division was disbanded in 1968 , its units in Florida became part of the 53rd Infantry Brigade ( Separate ) . The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the non - color bearing units of the 53d Armored Brigade on 9 January 1967 . It was redesignated for the 53d Infantry Brigade on 25 July 1968 . The brigade participated in hurricane relief operations in 1992 in response to Hurricane Andrew whereby the brigade was deployed for nearly two months to Miami . The Florida Army National Guard 53rd Infantry Brigade was the first of 15 Army National Guard enhanced readiness brigades to rotate through the Joint Readiness Training Center ( JRTC ) at Fort Polk , Louisiana , 10 – 26 June 1995 . The U . S . Army has since done away with the program of directly augmenting active duty units with National Guard units . Participating in the training were 65 per cent of the Florida Army National Guard . A convoy of 1 , 000 vehicles traveled from Miami to Panama City , Florida to be loaded on barges and shipped to Fort Polk for the National Guard Brigade training . The brigade also has a training relationship with the 82nd Airborne Division . Florida National Guard and U . S . Army Reserve officials joined U . S . Representative C . W . Bill Young , R - Fla . , 1 December 2001 , in announcing plans for a new joint training center that will be the future home of more than 1 , 700 military reservists . The facility to be built at Gateway Center in Pinellas Park will replace three existing outdated and overcrowded facilities including Tampa ' s Fort Homer Hesterly Armory , the JF Campbell National Guard Armory in Clearwater and the Lovejoy U . S . Army Reserve Center in Tampa . Construction of the new $ 53 . 5 million project began in 2002 , and was expected to be completed by the spring of 2003 . The House Appropriations Committee originally allocated $ 45 million for the project . Rep . Young , the committee ' s chairman , was crucial in securing the funds for the facility ' s construction . The National Guard units expected to be located at the new training center include the 53rd Infantry Brigade ( Sep ) Headquarters , Headquarters and Headquarters Company – 53rd Infantry Brigade , the 253rd Military Intelligence Company , as well as Companies A and B of the 53rd Support Battalion . Iraq 2002 - 03 . The brigade ' s three infantry battalions were activated in late December 2002 . They were sent to Fort Stewart , Georgia for training . Following training at Fort Stewart , Georgia , the three infantry battalions ( 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Battalions , 124th Infantry Regiment ) deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The Miami - based 1st Battalion , 124th Infantry Regiment , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hector Mirable , assumed a physical security mission on the Jordan - Iraq border . During their brief stay at the Jordanian Air Base , the unit conducted security operations , physical fitness training , and honed their combat skills . Afghanistan - 2005 - 06 . In 2005 , more than 2 , 400 soldiers from the 53rd Infantry Brigade deployed to Afghanistan as part of the international coalition ’ s Joint Task Force Phoenix , where they helped train the Afghan National Army . During their deployment , the task force saw 11 Afghan kandaks ( battalions ) graduate from Kabul Military Training Center , adding more than 7 , 000 soldiers to the Afghan National Army . Iraq 2006 . In June 2006 , Delta Company , 2nd Battalion , 124th Infantry deployed to Mosul , Iraq for a one - year tour conducting stability operations and combat patrols . The unit worked in conjunction with elements of the 25th Infantry Division , United States Special Forces , and Company H , 121st LRRS . John Wolven , creator of the popular , but fictitious , motocross legend and journalist Johnny O ' Hannah , served as a platoon leader during this deployment . Iraq 2010 . In January 2010 , the 53rd Infantry Brigade was activated for service in Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The brigade mobilized at Fort Hood , Texas and , beginning in late February , began deploying to Kuwait . Although originally scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan in 2009 , in 2008 , the brigade learned that their mission had shifted from Infantry operations in Afghanistan to convoy security in Iraq . The brigade ' s primary mission was to provide convoy security for logistical convoys moving in and out of Iraq . The 1st Battalion , 124th Infantry - the Hurricane Battalion - conducted medium and long haul missions from their base in Camp Buehring , Kuwait , while the 2nd Battalion , 124th Infantry - the Seminole Battalion - conducted short haul missions from their base in Camp Virginia , Kuwait . The 1st Squadron , 153rd Cavalry " Darkhorse " conducted security force missions in Northern Kuwait at Camps Buehring and Virginia as well as at Khabari Crossing in Kuwait . Bravo Troop , 1 - 153rd Cavalry was stationed at Camp As - Saliyah , Qatar . The brigade headquarters element conducted administrative operations from Camp Arifjan , Kuwait . Order of battle . 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team consists of the following elements :