2nd Brigade Combat Team , 10th Mountain Division ( United States ) The 2nd Brigade Combat Team , 10th Mountain Division is a mountain warfare infantry Brigade Combat Team of the United States Army based at Fort Drum , New York . It is a subordinate unit of the 10th Mountain Division . Activated in 1985 , the 10th Mountain Division ' s second brigade ' s elements saw numerous deployments to contingencies around the world in the 1990s . With the Global War on Terrorism the brigade has seen two deployments to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004 , and units within its ranks have seen two deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom , making it one of few brigades to see over 40 months of deployment as of 2009 . The Brigade Combat Team is scheduled for another deployment , returning to Iraq in fall of 2009 . The Entire brigade is now back from its 09 - 10 deployment to Iraq . Organization . The 2nd Brigade Combat Team is a subordinate unit of the 10th Mountain Division , however its modular nature means it is capable of operating independently of the division ' s Headquarters and Headquarters Company . The brigade consists of six subordinate battalions ; its combat element consists of two infantry battalions , the 2nd Battalion , 14th Infantry Regiment and the 4th Battalion , 31st Infantry Regiment . The 1st Squadron , 89th Cavalry Regiment provides reconnaissance and surveillance services to the brigade combat team , while the 2nd Battalion , 15th Field Artillery Regiment provides lightweight indirect fire support . The brigade ' s headquarters and command services are provided by the Special Troops Battalion . All sustainment services for the brigade are provided by the 210th Brigade Support Battalion . All of these battalions are located at Fort Drum with most of the rest of the 10th Mountain Division . History . On 13 February 1985 , the 10th Mountain Division ( Light Infantry ) was activated at Fort Drum , New York , after several decades inactive . In accordance with the Reorganization Objective Army Divisions plan , the division was no longer centered around regiments , instead two brigades were activated under the division . The 1st Brigade , 10th Mountain Division was activated at Fort Drum while the 2nd Brigade , 10th Mountain Division was activated at Fort Benning , moving to Fort Drum in 1988 . The division was also assigned a round - out brigade from the Army National Guard , the 27th Infantry Brigade . The division was specially designed as a light infantry division able to rapidly deploy . Equipment design was oriented toward reduced size and weight for reasons of both strategic and tactical mobility . The division also received a distinctive unit insignia . Contingencies . In 1990 , the division sent 1 , 200 soldiers to support Operation Desert Storm . The largest of these units was the 548th Supply and Services Battalion with almost 1 , 000 soldiers , which supported the 24th Infantry Division ( Mechanized ) in Iraq . Following a cease - fire in March 1991 , the support soldiers began redeploying to Fort Drum through June of that year . Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida on 24 August 1992 , killing 13 people , leaving another 250 , 000 homeless and causing damages in excess of 20 billion dollars . On 27 September 1992 , the 10th Mountain Division assumed responsibility for Hurricane Andrew disaster relief as Task Force Mountain . Division soldiers set up relief camps , distributed food , clothing , medical necessities and building supplies , as well as helping to rebuild homes and clear debris . The last of the 6 , 000 division soldiers to deploy to Florida returned home in October 1992 . Operation Restore Hope . On 3 December 1993 , the division headquarters was designated as the headquarters for all Army Forces ( ARFOR ) of the Unified Task Force ( UNITAF ) for Operation Restore Hope . Major General Steven L . Arnold , the division commander , was named Army forces commander . The 10th Mountain Division ’ s mission was to secure major cities and roads to provide safe passage of relief supplies to the Somali population suffering from the effects of the Somali Civil War . Due to 10th Mountain Division efforts , humanitarian agencies declared an end to the food emergency and factional fighting decreased . When Task Force Ranger and the SAR team were pinned down during a raid in what later became known as the Battle of Mogadishu , 10th Mountain units provided infantry for the UN quick reaction force sent to rescue them . The 10th had 2 soldiers killed in the fighting , which was the longest sustained firefight by regular U . S . Army forces since the Vietnam War . The division began a gradual reduction of forces in Somalia in February 1993 , until the last soldiers of the 2nd Battalion , 22nd Infantry returned to the United States in March , 1994 . Operation Uphold Democracy . The division formed the nucleus of the Multinational Force Haiti ( MNF Haiti ) and Joint Task Force 190 ( JTF 190 ) in Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy . More than 8 , 600 of the division ' s troops deployed during this operation . On 19 September 1994 , the 1st Brigade conducted the Army ’ s first air assault from an aircraft carrier . This force consisted of 54 helicopters and almost 2 , 000 soldiers . They occupied the Port - au - Prince International Airport . This was the largest Army air operation conducted from a carrier since the Doolittle Raid in World War II . The division ’ s mission was to create a secure and stable environment so the government of Haitian President Jean - Bertrand Aristide could be reestablished and democratic elections held . After this was accomplished , the 10th Mountain Division handed over control of the MNF - Haiti to the 25th Infantry Division on 15 January 1995 . The Division redeployed the last of its soldiers who served in Haiti by 31 January 1995 . Task Force Eagle . In the fall of 1998 , the division received notice that it would be serving as senior headquarters of Task Force Eagle , providing a peacekeeping force to support the ongoing operation within the Multi - National Division - North area of responsibility in Bosnia and Herzegovina . Selected division units began deploying in late summer , approximately 3 , 000 division soldiers deployed . After successfully performing their mission in Bosnia , the division units conducted a Transfer of Authority , relinquishing their assignments to soldiers of the 49th Armored Division , Texas National Guard . By early summer 2000 , all 10th Mountain Division soldiers had returned safely to Fort Drum . Global War on Terrorism . Readiness controversy . During the 2000 presidential campaign , the readiness of the 10th Mountain Division became a political issue when George W . Bush asserted that the division was " not ready for duty . " He attributed the division ' s low readiness to the frequent deployments throughout the 1990s without time in between for division elements to retrain and refit . A report from the US General Accounting Office in July 2000 also noted that although the entire 10th Mountain Division was not deployed to the contengencies at once , " deployment of key components — especially headquarters — makes these divisions unavailable for deployment elsewhere in case of a major war . " Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation agreed with these sentiments , charging that the US military overall was not prepared for war due to post - Cold War drawdowns of the US Military . The Army responded that , though the 10th Mountain Division had been unprepared following its deployment as Task Force Eagle , that the unit was fully prepared for combat by late 2000 despite being undermanned . Still , the Army moved the 10th Mountain Division down on the deployment list , allowing it time to retrain and refit . In 2002 , columnist and highly decorated military veteran David Hackworth again criticized the 10th Mountain Division for being unprepared due to lack of training , low physical fitness , unprepared leadership and low morale . He said the division was no longer capable of mountain warfare . Deployments . Following the 11 September 2001 attacks , elements of the division , including its special troops battalion and the 1 - 87th Infantry and 4 - 31 Infantry deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001 . These forces remained in the country until mid - 2002 , fighting to secure remote areas of the country and participating in prominent operations such as Operation Anaconda , the Fall of Mazar - i - Sharif , and the Battle of Qala - i - Jangi . The division also participated in fighting in the Shahi Khot Valley in 2002 . Upon the return of the battalions , they were welcomed home and praised by President Bush . In 2003 , elements of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team , 10th Mountain Division returned to Afghanistan to support US forces operating in the western region of the country . Upon the return of the division headquarters and 1st Brigade , the 10th Mountain Division began the process of transformation into a modular division . On 16 September 2004 , the division headquarters finished its transformation . The 1st Brigade became the 1st Brigade Combat Team , 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 would not be transformed until September 2005 , pending a deployment to Iraq . In late 2004 , 2nd Brigade Combat Team was deployed to Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom . The 2nd Brigade Combat Team undertook combat operations in Baghdad including the Green Zone and Ahub Grab prison camp , returning to the US in late 2005 . Around that time , the 1st Brigade Combat Team deployed back to Iraq , staying in the country until 2006 . The 1st Brigade Combat Team and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team are scheduled to deploy to Iraq in the fall of 2009 , as a part of the 2009 – 2010 rotation to Iraq . As of summer 2009 , it was one of only a few brigades in the U . S . Army to be deployed 40 months or more in support of the War on Terrorism .