Special Troops Battalion , 10th Mountain Division ( United States ) The 10th Mountain Division Special Troops Battalion is a special troops battalion of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Drum , New York . It is the organization for the command elements of the 10th Mountain Division . The battalion contains the division ' s senior command structure , including its Headquarters and Headquarters Company , as well as communication and support elements , which provide services to any units assigned to the headquarters at a time . Activated to oversee division elements prior to World War II , the battalion fought in Italy for a year . After the war it served as the command element for the 10th when it was a training unit . Due to reorganizations in the Army , the Special Troops Battalion was not reactivated with the 10th Mountain Division in 1985 , and instead remained inactive while the division served in numerous contingencies throughout the 1990s . Reactivated during another reorganization in 2004 , the Special Troops Battalion supported the 10th Mountain Division command elements when they deployed to both Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq . During this service , it has received several commendations for its multiple deployments . In October 2009 , the Special Troops Battalion was redesignated to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion , 10th Mountain Division ( LI ) . Organization . The 10th Mountain Division Special Troops Battalion ( STB ) is subordinate to the 10th Mountain Division , and is a permanent formation of the division , as the 10th Mountain Division ' s command elements are all contained within the STB . It is organized under the same uniform structure that all Special Troops Battalions in the United States Army conform to . The battalion consists of four companies ; the division ' s Headquarters and Headquarters Company , as well as A Company , a Combat Engineer company , B Company , a Military Intelligence company , C Company , a Signal company , and a generic Military Police platoon . These companies provide services for the other elements under the 10th Mountain Division ' s command . As such , all of the formations are mountain warfare qualified . History . The Special Troops Battalion was activated on 6 November 1944 , as an organizational structure for the command elements of the 10th Mountain Division . It was activated at Camp Swift , Texas , while the division was staging in preparation for deployment to Europe during World War II . World War II . The 10th Light Division ( Alpine ) was constituted on 10 July 1943 , and activated two days later at Camp Hale , Colorado . The division was centered around regimental commands ; the 85th Infantry Regiment , 86th Infantry Regiment , and 87th Infantry Regiment . Also assigned to the division were the 604th , 605th , and 616th Field Artillery battalions , the 110th Signal Company , the 710th Ordnance Company , the 10th Quartermaster Company , the 10th Reconnaissance Troop , the 126th Engineer Battalion , the 10th Medical Battalion , and the 10th Counter - Intelligence Detachment . The 10th Light Division was unique in that it was the only division in the Army with three field artillery battalions instead of four . The division trained for one year at the 9 , 200 - foot - high Camp Hale . Soldiers trained to fight and survive under the most brutal mountain conditions , traveling on skis and show shoes , and sleeping in the snow without tents . On 22 June 1944 , the division was shipped to Camp Swift , Texas to prepare for maneuvers in Louisiana , which were later canceled . A period of acclimation to a low altitude and hot climate was necessary to prepare for this training . On 6 November 1944 , the 10th Division was redesignated the 10th Mountain Division . It was at this point that the Special Troops Battalion was activated . That same month the blue and white " Mountain " tab was authorized for the division ' s new shoulder sleeve insignia . Italy . The battalion and its division sailed for Italy in late 1944 , arriving in Italy on 6 January 1945 . It was the last US Army Division to enter combat in World War II . The battalion provided command for the division as it immediately entered combat near Cutigliano and Orsigna . Preliminary defensive actions were followed on 19 February 1945 by Battle of Monte Castello in conjunction with troops of a Brazilian Expeditionary Force . The unit made concerted attacks on the Monte Della Torraccia - Mount Belvedere sector , and the peaks were cleared after several days of heavy fighting . In early March the division fought its way north of Canolle and moved to within of Bologna . Maintaining defensive positions for the next three weeks , the division jumped off again in April , captured Mongiorgio on 20 April , and entered the Po Valley , seizing the strategic points Pradalbino and Bomporto . The 10th crossed the Po River on 23 April , reaching Verona on 25 April , and ran into heavy opposition at Torbole and Nago . After an amphibious crossing of Lake Garda , it secured Gargnano and Porto di Tremosine on 30 April , as German resistance in Italy ended . After the German surrender in Italy on 2 May 1945 , the division went on security duty , receiving the surrender of various German units and screening the areas of occupation near Trieste , Kobarid , Bovec and Log pod Mangartom , Slovenia until V - E Day , the end of the war in Europe . Demobilization . Originally , the battalion and division were to be sent to the Pacific theater to take part in Operation Downfall , the invasion of mainland Japan . However , Japan surrendered in August 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . The division returned to the US two days after the surrender . All of its combat elements , as well as the Special Troops Battalion , were demobilized and deactivated on 30 November 1945 , at Camp Carson , Colorado . Cold War . In June 1948 , the division was rebuilt and activated at Fort Riley , Kansas to serve as a training division . Without its " Mountain " tab , the division served at the 10th Infantry Division for the next ten years . The battalion was also rebuilt and delegated to commanding the training units . The division was charged with processing and training replacements in large numbers . This mission was expanded with the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 . By 1953 , the division had trained 123 , 000 new Army recruits at Fort Riley . In 1954 , the division was converted to a combat division once again , though it did not regain its " Mountain " status . Using equipment from the deactivating 37th Infantry Division , the 10th Infantry Division was deployed to Germany , replacing the 1st Infantry Division at Würzburg , serving as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization defensive force . The division served in Germany for four years , until it was rotated out and replaced by the 3rd Infantry Division . On 1 July 1957 , the battalion was redesignated as the 10th Administration Company . However , the company moved with the division to Fort Benning , Georgia , and was deactivated on 14 June 1958 . Reactivation . In 1985 , when the 10th Mountain Division was reactivated again , the Special Troops Battalion was not made a part of the organizational structure , in accordance with the new format of US Army Divisions per the 1963 Reorganization Objective Army Divisions plan . Upon the return of the division headquarters and 1st Brigade from Afghanistan after supporting Operation Enduring Freedom , the 10th Mountain Division began the process of transformation into a modular division . On 16 September 2004 , the division headquarters finished its transformation , which returned the Special Troops Battalion to active service . The 1st Brigade became the 1st Brigade Combat Team , 10th Mountain Division , while the 3rd Brigade Combat Team , 10th Mountain Division was activated for the first time . In January 2005 , the 4th Brigade Combat Team , 10th Mountain Division was activated at Fort Polk , Louisiana . 2nd Brigade Combat Team , 10th Mountain Division would not be transformed until September 2005 , pending a deployment to Iraq . Around that time , the Special Troops Battalion received its heraldry , including a coat of arms and a distinctive unit insignia . The division headquarters and 3rd Brigade Combat Team redeployed to Afghanistan in 2006 , staying in the country until 2007 . The division and brigade served in the eastern region of the country , along the border with Pakistan , fulfilling a similar role as it did during its previous deployment . During this time , the deployment of the brigade was extended along with that of the 4th Brigade Combat Team , 82nd Airborne Division , however , it was eventually replaced by the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team which was rerouted from Iraq . After a one - year rest , the headquarters of the 10th Mountain Division was deployed to Iraq for the first time in April 2008 , along with the 4th Brigade Combat Team . The division headquarters served as the command element for southern Baghdad , while the 4th BCT operated in North Baghdad . The 10th Mountain participated in larger scale operations such as Operation Phantom Phoenix . Honors . The 10th Mountain Division Special Troops Battalion was awarded two campaign streamers in World War II and four campaign streamers in the War on Terrorism for a total of six campaign streamers and two unit decorations in its operational history . Some of the division ' s brigades received more or fewer decorations depending on their individual deployments .