172nd Infantry Brigade ( United States ) The 172nd Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the United States Army headquartered at Grafenwöhr , Germany . An active duty separate brigade , it was part of V Corps and was one of five active - duty , separate , combat brigades in the U . S . Army before its most recent deactivation on 31 May 2013 . First activated in 1917 , the brigade was deployed to France during World War I and used to reinforce front - line units . The brigade ' s actions in France during that time are not completely clear . It would later be converted to a reconnaissance unit that was deployed during World War II and saw several months of combat in the European Theater . The brigade has multiple tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2005 until 2006 and from 2009 until 2010 and in Operation Enduring Freedom from 2011 until 2012 . Its infamous 16 - month deployment was one of the longest deployments for a unit serving in the OIF campaign . Most recently the brigade served an 11 - month tour in Afghanistan from 2011 until 2012 . The unit has been activated and deactivated numerous times , and has also seen several redesignations . The 172nd was one of the first brigade combat team s before it was deactivated in 2006 . Reactivated in 2008 from another reflagged unit , it immediately prepared for another tour of duty in Iraq . Following a series of budget cuts and force structure reductions , the unit formally deactivated on 31 May 2013 in Grafenwöhr , Germany . Organization . The brigade is a separate unit , not reporting to a higher division - level headquarters , but instead reporting directly to the V Corps of United States Army Europe . It consists of six battalion s and four companies . These components include two infantry battalions , one armor battalion , one field artillery battalion , a combat engineer battalion and a support services battalion . It also contains a headquarters company , a Signal company , a military intelligence company , and an armored cavalry company for reconnaissance . The Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the unit is located at Grafenwöhr , Germany . The Unit also contains the 1st Battalion , 2d Infantry , the 2nd Battalion , 28th Infantry , the 1st Battalion , 77th Field Artillery , the 9th Engineer Battalion , the 3rd Battalion , 66th Armor , and the 172nd Forward Support Battalion . In addition , the brigade contains three independent companies ; 504th Military Intelligence Company , and Echo Troop , 5th Cavalry Regiment , the 57th Signal Company . All of these subordinate units are currently located in Grafenwöhr . History . World War I . The 172nd Infantry Brigade ( Separate ) , officially titled the " 172d Infantry Brigade " , was first constituted on 5 August 1917 in the National Army as the 172nd Infantry Brigade . It was organized on the 25th of that month at Camp Grant , in Rockford , Illinois and assigned to the 86th Infantry Division . The brigade was assigned to the 86th Division and deployed to Europe for duty during World War I . It arrived in Bordeaux , France , in September 1918 The combat record of the unit during its World War I service is not clear , but it is known that the 86th Division was depleted when much of its force was used to reinforce other units already on the front lines . Thus , the brigade received a World War I campaign streamer without an inscription , as it was not known to have fought in any engagements . After a cease fire was signed in 1918 , the Brigade returned to the United States . It was demobilized in January 1919 at Camp Grant , and the camp itself was abandoned in 1921 . On 24 June 1921 the unit was reconstituted in the Organized Reserves as Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 172nd Infantry Brigade , and again assigned to the 86th Division . It was organized in January 1922 at Springfield , Illinois and went through several redesignations , including Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 172nd Brigade , on 23 March 1925 and Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 172nd Infantry Brigade on 24 August 1936 . World War II . The Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 172nd Infantry Brigade , was converted and redesignated the 3rd Platoon , 86th Reconnaissance Troop , and assigned to the 86th Infantry Division on 31 March 1942 , while the Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 171st Infantry Brigade , became the remainder of the 86th Reconnaissance Troop . On 15 December 1942 the troop was mobilized and reorganized at Camp Howze , in Gainesville , Texas , as the 86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop , only to be reorganized and redesignated again on 5 August 1943 as the " 86th Reconnaissance Troop , Mechanized " . For the majority of the US involvement in World War II it remained stateside , participating in the Third Army # 5 Louisiana Maneuvers in 1943 , among other exercises , until finally staging at Camp Myles Standish , at Boston , Massachusetts on 5 February 1945 and shipping out from Boston on 19 February 1945 . The 86th Reconnaissance Troop arrived in France on 1 March 1945 , acclimated and trained , and then moved to Köln , Germany , and participated in the relief of the 8th Infantry Division in defensive positions near Weiden which is now part of Lindenthal on 28 – 29 March 1945 . During its few months of combat duty in Europe , the troop participated in amphibious assault s across was Danube , Bigge , Altmuhl , Isar , Inn , Mittel - Isar and Salzach rivers in Germany and Austria . It was assigned to First , Third , Seventh , and Fifteenth US Armies . The unit was at Salzburg on 7 May 1945 ( V - E Day ) . It was then sent back stateside to prepare for operation in the Pacific . Arriving back in New York City on 17 June 1945 , the unit proceeded to Fort Gruber in Braggs , Oklahoma before staging at Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg , California on 14 August 1945 . The unit shipped out from San Francisco on 21 August 1945 and arrived in the Philippines on 7 September 1945 , five days after the Japanese surrender . The Cold War . On 10 October 1945 the 86th Reconnaissance Troop ( Mechanized ) was again redesignated the " 86th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop " before finally being deactivated on 30 December 1946 while still stationed in the Philippines . However the 86th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop was reactivated again on 9 July 1952 as part of the Army Reserve . It continued serving within the Army Reserve for some years . From 1961 to 1963 , the Army began reorganizing its force so that each division would have a similar structure , varying according to the type of division . This move was called the Reorganization Objective Army Division ( ROAD ) plan . The plan reintroduced brigades to the Army ' s structure , allowing three brigades to a division . The reorganization also allowed for the use of " separate " brigades which had no division headquarters and could be used for missions that did not require an entire division . The 172nd Brigade was chosen to be reactivated as one of these . On 20 May 1963 the 3rd Platoon , 86th Reconnaissance Troop was converted and redesignated as the 172nd Infantry Brigade , relieved from assignment to the 86th Infantry Division , and allotted to the Regular Army . The other two platoons of the troop have a separate lineage from that point . Activation of the brigade with its new structure took place on 1 July 1963 at Fort Richardson , Alaska . The new structure included one Light Infantry Battalion ; one Mechanized Infantry Battalion ; and one Tank Company . Its shoulder sleeve insignia was authorized for use on 28 August 1963 and its distinctive unit insignia was authorized on 8 June 1966 . The Brigade was reorganized from Mechanized Infantry to Light Infantry on 30 June 1969 , with a reduction to two mechanized infantry battalion s . In 1974 the 172nd Infantry Brigade was reorganized again to include three light infantry battalions , It was again reorganized in 1978 to a structure that included one infantry battalion , one mechanized infantry battalion , and one tank battalion The brigade was again deactivated on 15 April 1986 at Fort Richardson , Alaska , being reflagged as part of the newly reformed 6th Infantry Division . Transformation . In the late 1990s , Army leaders including General Eric Shinseki began shifting the Army force toward brigade centered operations . All separate brigades had been deactivated in the 1990s as part of the US Army ' s drawdown following the end of the Cold War . These deactivations , along with subsequent reorganization of US Army divisions , saw several divisional brigades stationed in bases that were far from the division ' s headquarters and support units . These brigades had difficulty operating without support from higher headquarters . It was Shinseki ' s idea to reactivate a few separate brigades and assign them their own support and sustainment units , which would allow them to function independently of division - level headquarters . These formations were termed " Brigade Combat Team s " . Such units could be stationed in bases far from major commands , not requiring division - level unit support , an advantage in places like Alaska and Europe , where stationing entire divisions was unnecessary or impractical . The first of the separate brigades was to be the 172nd Infantry Brigade . On 17 April 1998 , the U . S . Army reactivated the " 172nd Infantry Brigade ( Separate ) " and reflagged the 1st Brigade , 6th Infantry Division as that unit was headquartered at Fort Wainwright , Alaska . Two years later , the 173rd Airborne Brigade was reactivated on 12 June 2000 at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza , Italy > . The 172nd was given an air assault infantry battalion , one of only three existing outside of the 101st Airborne Division ( the other two battalions were part of the 2nd Infantry Division based in Korea ) . The 172nd Infantry was designed as a " pacific theater contingency brigade " . Located in Alaska , the 172nd would be able to deploy to any contingencies in Alaska , Europe ( over the north pole ) or the Pacific . In July 2001 the US Army announced that the 172nd Infantry Brigade was to become one of the Army ' s new Interim Brigade Combat Teams , later to be known as Stryker Brigade Combat Team s ( SBCTs ) . Changes to the brigade included the addition of some 300 Stryker vehicles , and several Unmanned Aerial Vehicle s . The transformation was intended to increase the brigade ' s mobility in operations as well as reduce its logistical footprint . The project entailed around $ 1 . 2 billion in construction costs for training facilities , motor pools , and other buildings . This transformation was completed when the unit was formally redesignated on 16 October 2003 . After the transformation was complete , the 172nd became the third Stryker brigade in the US Army , with a force of 3 , 500 soldiers . In 2005 , the new Brigade Commander changed the motto of the infantry brigade from " Snow Hawks " to " Arctic Wolves " . In early 2005 , the brigade was alerted that it would be deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom for the first time . To prepare , it participated in several large exercises at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk , Louisiana . The 220th Military Police Brigade , a reserve unit , provided additional soldiers to assist the brigade in the exercises during their final preparations for deployment . Operation Iraqi Freedom . In August 2005 , the 172nd Infantry Brigade deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The unit deployed to Mosul , Iraq . Duties of the unit during deployment included numerous patrol operations , searches for weapons caches , and counterinsurgency operations . Its tour was to have ended on 27 July 2006 , but the U . S . Army unexpectedly extended the deployment until the end of November 2006 . During the extension , the unit was sent to Baghdad to quell growing sectarian violence concerns . The infamous extension of the deployment had happened after some of the units of the Brigade were already touched down at their home base of Fort Wainwright , AK , forcing them to fly back to staging areas in Iraq . The extension occurred after the unit ' s regular 12 - month tour was complete , making the deployment last for a total of 16 months . As a result of the unit ' s action in Iraq , the brigade was awarded the Valorous Unit Award . During this action , 26 soldiers of the brigade were killed in action , and another 350 were wounded . Ten additional soldiers in units attached to the brigade were killed . Deactivation 2006 . Having returned from its extended tour in Baghdad , Iraq , the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team was officially deactivated and the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team , 25th Infantry Division was activated in its place on 14 December 2006 . The brigade ' s six battalions and four separate companies were likewise reflagged as part of the change . The reflagged units were : Reactivation in Germany . As part of the Grow the Army Plan announced 19 December 2007 , the Army will activate and retain two Infantry Brigades in Germany until 2012 and 2013 . On 6 March 2008 , it was announced that the 172nd Infantry Brigade would be activated as the first of these brigades , with the other being the 170th Infantry Brigade . On 17 March , the 172nd Infantry Brigade was formally activated in Schweinfurt , Germany by reflagging the 1st Infantry Division ' s 2nd ( Dagger ) Brigade , which relocated to Ft . Riley , KS . The 172nd Infantry Brigade relocated to Grafenwöhr , Germany , The unit it was activated using the assets of the 2nd Brigade , 1st Infantry Division , which had recently completed its own tour of duty in Iraq . The 172nd Infantry Brigade was activated with the following unit redesignations : When the brigade converts to a modular design , the Brigade Special Troops Battalion will be given organic , unnumbered signal , engineer and military intelligence companies along with a chemical and military police platoons . After its activation , the brigade began moving its components from Schweinfurt to Grafenwöhr , Germany , as part of the Grow the Army plan . Simultaneously , the brigade converted to a modular structure to become a Brigade Combat Team upon completion . In May 2008 , the brigade was alerted that it would be returning to Iraq in the fall of that year . The deployment was set to last 12 months , and was set to start after the unit ' s 12 - month out - of - action cycle ended on November 2008 . This would be the brigade ' s third tour to Iraq , as it completed a tour of duty in Iraq shortly before being redesignated from the 2nd Brigade , 1st Infantry Division . The brigade began training for its deployment to the country as soon as it received orders for deployment . German military officers trained with the brigade during this preparation . The soldiers of the brigade were part of a 40 , 000 - soldier troop rotation into Iraq and Afghanistan , intended to maintain previous troop levels in both countries until late 2009 . In fall of 2008 , the brigade completed its transition to a brigade combat team , and was redesignated as the 172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team . In late October 2008 the brigade began moving equipment and vehicles by train from Germany in preparation for their tour in Iraq . 385 containers full of gear , as well as 75 M1A1 Abrams Tanks , M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles , and HMMWV s were sent by train on 28 October . the brigade picked up additional MRAP and uparmored HMMWVs in Kuwait . The brigade deployed into theater by December 2008 , replacing the 4th Brigade Combat Team , 3rd Infantry Division . A proposal was made to relocate the unit to White Sands Missile Range , New Mexico in 2012 as the 7th Brigade Combat Team , 1st Armored Division , pending discussions to leave two heavy brigades in Europe . Afghanistan . The 172 IBCT deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2011 . The brigade left behind its " heavy " vehicles , Bradley fighting vehicles and Abrams tanks , for MRAP s . Soldiers will spend some of their time during the deployment patrolling on foot , as their normal heavy tracked vehicles are incompatible with rugged terrain of Afghanistan . . During this deployment the Brigade was responsible for Paktika province along the Pakistani border . One of the more controversial aspects of the deployment was the formation of the first US / Afghan Joint firing base with Afghan National Army Artillery firing in support of U . S . forces in the Urgun district . Following a number of budget cuts and force structure reductions , the brigade deactivated in Germany on 31 May 2013 .