1st Brigade Combat Team , 1st Cavalry Division ( United States ) The 1st Brigade Combat Team , 1st Cavalry Division ( the Iron Horse Brigade ) was constituted 29 August 1917 in the United States Army as Headquarters , 1st Cavalry Brigade . The brigade was organized as part of the 15th Cavalry Division in February 1917 at Fort Sam Houston , Texas . History . The brigade ' s initial wartime service was patrolling the United States – Mexico border , until demobilization on 14 July 1919 , at Brownsville , Texas . Operating from horseback , the cavalry was charged with halting the band of smugglers that operated along the desolate Mexican border , performing duties that are today performed by the United States Border Patrol . The brigade was later reconstituted 20 August 1920 in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop , 1st Cavalry Brigade , an element of the 1st Cavalry Division . On 1 September 1921 , the unit organized at Camp Harry J . Jones , in Douglas , Arizona . The brigade fought as infantry in the Pacific Theater of World War II , as did the entire 1st Cavalry Division . It fought on New Guinea , the Bismarck Archipelago , and the Philippines , earning both the United States and the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation . The brigade deactivated 2 March 1949 in Japan and was relieved from assignment from the 1st Cavalry Division . The 1st Brigade Headquarters was converted and redesignated as Headquarters , 1st Constabulary Brigade , on 20 May 1949 , and served in Germany . The brigade was relieved from assignment to the United States Constabulary on 24 November 1950 . On 15 August 1951 , they deactivated in Germany and disbanded on 5 December 1951 . The brigade was again reconstituted in the Regular Army , converted , and redesignated on 15 July 1963 , as Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 1st Brigade , 1st Cavalry Division . The unit was activated on 1 September 1963 in Korea . The 1st Brigade was transferred to Fort Benning , Georgia , in July 1963 and deployed to Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division later that year . Major operations included the Pleiku Campaign , operations in War zone C ( III Corps ) , the Cambodian Campaign , and operations throughout War zone D . The brigade returned to Fort Hood in July 1971 . In June 1972 , the brigade received the official designation of " IRONHORSE " . The brigade deployed to Operation Desert Shield / Storm in October 1990 and conducted military operations with allied forces throughout the 6 month Gulf War . The 1st Brigade redeployed to Fort Hood , Texas , in April 1991 . Since then , elements of the brigade have deployed to Guantanamo Bay from May – June 1992 for Operation Island Sentinel , to the Emirate of Kuwait , and the National Training Center at Fort Irwin , California , for annual training . In April 1998 , the brigade was alerted for peace enforcement duty in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of Stabilization Forces ( SFOR ) 4 on Operation Joint Forge . For this mission , the 8th Cavalry Regiment from the 2nd Blackjack Brigade was attached to the 1st Brigade . The 12th Cavalry Regiment was attached to the 2nd Brigade since at the time of deployment they were receiving and fielding the M1A2 tank . The brigade deployed to Bosnia from August 1998 until March 1999 and was crucial to maintaining peace and stability during a very critical and potentially violent time in Bosnia where new governments were forming and the post - war tension was at its peak . In 2002 the 1st brigade was the first brigade in the First Cavalry Division to transition to Force XXI and received the new M1A2 SEP ( System Enhancement Package ) tank into its two tank battalions ( 1 – 12 Cav and 2 – 8 Cav ) in addition to other modernized , digitally enhanced equipment . In March 2004 the 1st Bde . Deployed along with the rest of the 1st Cav in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II . It was responsible for securing the eastern part of Baghdad , specifically Sadr City and the surrounding area . After a grueling year of combat operations mostly against Shia Miltias . The 1st Brigade redeployed to Ft Hood in March 2005 . In November 2006 the 1st redeployed yet again to Iraq for OIF 06 - 08 . This time securing the area around Taji 30 miles north of Baghdad . The brigade redeployed to Ft Hood in January 2008 . Lineage . Constituted 29 August 1917 in the Regular Army as Headquarters , 1st Cavalry Brigade Organized in February 1918 at Fort Sam Houston , Texas , as an element of the 15th Cavalry Division Relieved 12 May 1918 from assignment to the 15th Cavalry Division Demobilized 14 July 1919 at Brownsville , Texas Reconstituted 20 August 1921 in the Regular Army as Headquarters , 1st Cavalry Brigade , and assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division ( later redesignated as the 1st Cavalry Division , Special ) Organized 1 September 1921 at Camp Harry J . Jones , Arizona Inactivated 25 March 1949 in Japan and relieved from assignment to the 1st Cavalry Division , Special Converted and redesignated 20 May 1949 as Headquarters , 1st Constabulary Brigade , and activated in Germany Inactivated 15 August 1951 in Germany Disbanded 5 December 1951 Reconstituted 15 July 1963 in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company , 1st Brigade , 1st Cavalry Division Activated 1 September 1963 in Korea Headquarters , 1st Brigade , 1st Cavalry Division , reorganized and redesignated 17 October 2005 as Headquarters , 1st Brigade Combat Team , 1st Cavalry Division ( Headquarters Company , 1st Brigade , 1st Cavalry Division – hereafter separate lineage ) Decorations . The 1st Brigade Combat Team , 1st Cavalry Division has the following decorations :