411th Civil Affairs Battalion ( United States ) 411th Civil Affairs Battalion ( Tactical ) is a civil affairs ( CA ) unit of the United States Army . It is based at Danbury , Connecticut . The unit includes Alpha , Bravo , Charlie , Delta and Headquarters ( HHC ) Companies , all located in Danbury . The battalion has been involved in almost every conflict or major operation since Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 . History . The history of the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion begins in 1945 with the establishment of the 399th Civil Affairs Group , which served in the Pacific Theatre . It was later transferred to the Army Reserve and located in Danbury , Connecticut . The 411th Military Government Company was established in 1949 and located in West Hartford , Connecticut . In 1959 the unit was re - designated as the 411th Civil Affairs Company and transferred to Hartford , Connecticut . In 1978 , with the drawdown of CA forces after the Vietnam War , the 399th was deactivated and its personnel assigned to the newly created Detachment 1 of the 411th CA Company , still located in Danbury . In 1991 , the 411th was reconstituted as a battalion and consolidated in Danbury the following year . 1980s . The 411th has answered the call on many occasions beginning in 1989 when individuals volunteered for service in Operations Just Cause and Promote Liberty in Panama . In December 1990 teams were mobilized and deployed to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in support of the storied 3rd Armored Division , which was part of the VII Corps effort to liberate Kuwait . Several 411th soldiers also participated in Operation Provide Comfort to support humanitarian operations in Kurdistan ( northern Iraq and neighboring Turkey ) . 1990s . Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti during 1994 saw individuals supporting Special Forces in humanitarian operations . The following year , 34 soldiers from the 411th deployed to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in support of humanitarian efforts for Cuban refugees as part of a Presidential Selected Reserve Call Up . Operation Sea Signal foretold the growing demand for civil affairs soldiers worldwide . From December 1995 to January 1997 , the 411th provided teams for peace implementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina called Operation Joint Endeavor . This was followed up by peacekeeping operations from 1997 through 1999 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Operations Joint Guard and Joint Forge ) . This support for peacekeeping operations set the trend for future CA support of international efforts to aid war - torn countries , exemplified by the 411th ’ s participation in Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo from 1999 through 2000 . 2000s . Immediately following the 11 September 2001 attacks , members of the battalion volunteered to assist in recovery efforts at ‘ Ground Zero ’ in lower Manhattan . This effort marked the beginning of the 411th ’ s contributions to the Global War on Terrorism as part of Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom . For Operation Iraqi Freedom in February 2003 , the 411th provided two direct support detachments in support of numerous units including the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force , 3rd Infantry Division , 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions , 2nd and 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiments , 1st Armored Division and the Coalition Provisional Authority . Both detachments moved into Iraq on 5 April 2003 in support of combat operations , remaining until March 2004 . At Camp Arifjan , Kuwait , personnel from Alpha worked closely with BG Kern ( 352nd CACOM commander ) and his staff in developing the final OIF Civil Affairs plan . At An Najaf , Alpha was reconstituted and it deployed teams in support of ongoing 2nd ACR field missions in villages surrounding the city . This included establishing a mobile Civil - Military Operations Center . On 22 April 2003 , Alpha established the first civil - military operations center ( CMOC ) in Baghdad , located immediately behind the UN compound . Alpha coordinated the development of detailed procedures to address issues raised by the local Iraqi population , including establishing lines of communication with the remaining Iraqi government representatives and local Non - Governmental Organizations ( NGOs ) in the area in order to address issues of the local populace . Between its opening on 22 April 2003 and its handover to Iraqi personnel in September , the ' UN CMOC ' had over 5 , 800 visitors and handled over 3 , 900 reports . Reported issues included reports on UXOs , looting , missing persons , requests for assistance , security , and a whole gamut of other topics . Based upon assessments conducted by its Civil Affairs Teams , Alpha developed detailed determinations of work required and secured the funding for over 150 public works projects to address deficiencies in the local infrastructure . Over $ 1 million in Commander ' s discretionary funds were allocated to pay for these projects . Alpha generated over 125 humanitarian projects to address the needs of the local populace , including the delivery of 30 tons of food , over 100 , 000 humanitarian rations , over 5 million litres of water , 8 tons of medical supplies and 8 tons of school supplies . Alpha took the lead in establishing Baghdad ’ s first Internal Displaced Persons ( IDP ) relocation area ( then known as Hillsdale ) . Alpha coordinated the 1st ID ’ s IDP program , including the development of the plans to address IDPs located in various Ministry buildings . This included overseeing the construction of 56 housing units for the relocation of over 50 families to Hillsdale from the ministries . On 19 August 2003 , Alpha was engaged during the terrorist attack on the United Nations compound in Baghdad . Suffering damage to its building and having six soldiers wounded , it immediately reacted to the attack and deployed its personnel to repel a potential second attack as well as to provide aid to the wounded . Alpha personnel were first to arrive at the scene and were instrumental in establishing order out of chaos early at the scene of the attack . Command of the entire operation was the responsibility of Alpha until the later arrival of follow - on units . First Sergeant William von Zehle ' s efforts to rescue UN Special Envoy Sergio de Mello were subsequently chronicled in the 2009 HBO film " Sergio " . The actions of detachment personnel were personally recognized by President George W . Bush , GEN Richard Myers ( Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ) , LTG James Helmly ( Chief , Army Reserve ) and Kofi Annan ( Secretary General , United Nations ) . Bravo Company of the 411th holds the distinction of being the first Civil Affairs company to enter Iraq as a complete unit . While traveling north with the 3rd ID and the 82nd Division , Bravo conducted CA operations in ten major Iraqi cities including Najaf , Hilla and Karbala . The unit was also part of the first U . S . forces to enter Falujah and Ramadi before settling into Baghdad . Bravo completed over 1 , 000 projects in southern , western and central Iraq worth in excess of $ 32 million . The unit was also instrumental in removing over 2 , 000 war hulks , cleaning city streets of trash and sewage while employing thousands of laborers and distributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to civic employees . The two companies redeployed after 13 months , returning in March 2004 . The 411th also provided 11 trained civil affairs soldiers for OIF rotation two . In August 2004 , the 411th made history again by becoming the first unit to deploy twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . They were the first unit to enter the country when the war began , and the first unit to return for a second trip . As a member of Task Force 353 within Special Operations Command Central ( Airborne ) , the 411th began arriving in August with their main body arriving in mid September . The battalion accoutered six tactical Civil Affairs companies for the 1st Infantry Division and 42nd Infantry Division . The unit provided cultural expertise , and was charged with developing the first program of instruction for Iraqi Army Civil Affairs . The 411th coordinated Operation I CAN , which collected donations of over 20 , 000 tons of school supplies for direct distribution by maneuver battalions and the Iraqi Army to the children of Iraq . The 411th staffed and ran four out of six ministries at the Regional Reconstruction Operations Center , and scheduled $ 1 , 823 , 371 , 242 in reconstruction projects . The RROC was recognized by the National RROC as the best in theater and the Pentagon singled it out as the Army ’ s model for Reconstruction Operations Centers . The battalion also operated three Provincial Civil Military Operations Centers , a Civil Military Coordination Center , the Division Projects Coordination Cell , oversaw the division ’ s Civil Military Information Center for detainee operations , and provided staffing to the division G5 and G3 - G5 Planning Cell . Over 725 major humanitarian projects were successfully processed totaling in excess of $ 81 , 000 , 000 . 411th personnel developed an effective project which tracked the progress of the programs from inception to completion ; and were instrumental in the Commander ' s Emergency Response Program ( CERP ) obligation rate improvement from 28 % in October 2004 to 65 % in April 2005 . During OIF III the battalion organized 19 Civil Affairs direct support tactical teams to provide CMO support at the maneuver battalion level . The area encompassed nine major cities and thousands of smaller towns and villages throughout the four provinces in AO Liberty , a total of , overseeing over one and half billion dollars in scheduled reconstruction projects . Companies of the 411th supported operations such as Operations Attleboro , Baton Rouge , City Park , Forsyth Park , Southern Storm , Niagara Falls , King ’ s Mountain , Peacemaker , Ad Duluyah Sunrise , Powder River and others . The battalion was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation for service in OIF III . 2010s . The 411th deployed a company sized element to Kandahar , Afghanistan in May 2010 . During this 10 month deployment the members of the unit worked alongside the US State Department , USAID , the 1 / 4 BCT of the 4th Infantry Division and with Canadian Light Infantry and CIMIC forces . The 411th HHC was instrumental in initiating , managing and completing nearly $ 22 million in infrastructure projects to include numerous road projects , well refurbishments , providing education supplies , delivering humanitarian aid and assisting in school refurbishments . Members of the unit also worked in conjunction with the Provincial Reconstruction Team throughout the city of Kandahar and in nearby rural areas . Unit decorations . The unit received a Meritorious Unit Commendation in 2008 for service in Iraq in 2004 - 2005 . The unit was also awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation in 2011 for service in Kandahar , Afghanistan .