170th Infantry Brigade ( United States ) The 170th Infantry Brigade was an infantry formation of the United States Army . From 2009 to 2012 , as part of its third period of existence , it was based at Baumholder in the Federal Republic of Germany . World War I . The 170th Infantry Brigade was first activated 25 August 1917 at Camp Custer , Michigan , as one of two brigades of the 85th Infantry Division , National Army consisting of the 339th and 340th Infantry Regiments . After a year of training the division left the U . S . for England . When the American Expeditionary Force North Russia was formed to be sent to Arkhangelsk , Russia , the 339th Infantry Regiment provided the infantry component , with support units also taken from the 85th Division sent along as well . While there , the 339th saw combat against the Bolsheviks . The 340th Infantry Regiment and the remainder of the 85th Infantry Division was stationed in Lorraine , on the Western Front in France as a depot division and therefore did not participate in any combat operations . Interwar to 1970 . The brigade , along with its parent unit the 85th Infantry Division , was reestablished as part of the Organized Reserves in 1921 . However , the 85th Infantry Division was reactivated on 15 May 1942 , it was as a triangular division with direct control of the 337th , 338th , and 339th Infantry Regiments . Thus the brigade was disestablished . With the reestablishment of brigades in the TOE of divisions in the 1960s following the short - lived experiment with pentomic organization , the 2nd Brigade , 24th Infantry Division was in 1963 assigned the heritage of the 170th Infantry Brigade . The 24th Division was inactivated in 1970 , then reactivated from 1975 to 1996 . When the 24th was reactivated again in 1999 it was as a headquarters unit only with separate National Guard brigades attached and no organic brigades of its own . It was inactivated again on 1 August 2006 . From 2009 - 2012 . The 170th Infantry Brigade of the United States Army was reestablished 15 July 2009 at U . S . Army Garrison Baumholder in Germany as part of the Grow the Army Plan . The 170th Infantry Brigade was formed by reflagging the 2nd Brigade , 1st Armored Division . The soldiers and equipment will remain in place but the 2d Brigade flag will transfer to Ft . Bliss , Texas , joining other elements of the 1st Armored Division . The 170th Infantry Brigade is organized as an enlarged hybrid of the Army XXI Heavy Division Infantry Brigade and modular brigade designs , as it incorporates both organic artillery and engineer battalions together with three infantry and armor units . Afghanistan . In late 2010 part of the unit deployed to Northern Afghanistan ( RC - N ) to take part in a NATO training mission in conjunction with the ANA and ANP . In early 2011 , the 170th IBCT deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom 11 - 12 to Regional Command North . During the brigade ' s deployment , it partnered with the 303rd Afghan Uniformed Police and the Afghan Border Police ' s 5th Zone . Key highlights of the deployment include the handover of security responsibilities for Mazar E Sharif from the International Security Assistance Force to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan by the Germans . The brigade also deployed two of its battalions for separate missions in support of other regional commands . The 3d Battalion , 4th Infantry Regiment deployed in November 2010 to Regional Command Capitol where it initially assumed part of the NTMA training mission in and around Kabul . It later transitioned to a security force mission across Afghanistan , ensuring various NTMA elements and VIPs were able to accomplish their tasks in a secure environment . The brigade ' s 4th Battalion , 70th Armor Regiment deployed to Regional Command South where it operated under Combined Team Uruzgan , partnered with the Australian Army . The brigade is redeployed back to Baumholder , Germany in early 2012 . A total of eight brigade soldiers died during the deployment . The 170th Infantry Brigade included the following subordinate units in 2011 : In February 2012 , Military . com announced that the brigade would be inactivated by the summer of 2012 . Over the course of the year , 4 , 000 of the brigade ' s 4 , 500 soldiers were reassigned . On 9 October 2012 , the 170th Infantry Brigade was inactivated in Germany , with the remaining 500 soldiers present for the event .