1st Brigade , 7th Infantry Division ( United States ) The 1st Brigade , 7th Infantry Division was an infantry brigade of the United States Army , and a part of the 7th Infantry Division . The brigade was based at Fort Ord , California for most of its history . After the Korean War , it was activated as a brigade in 1963 , and was returned to the United States where it saw action in Operation Just Cause and Operation Golden Pheasant before being finally deactivated in 1995 . History . World War I . The 1st Brigade , 7th Infantry Division was first constituted and activated in the Regular Army as the Headquarters Company , 7th Division on 6 December 1917 at Camp Wheeler , Georgia . One month later it organized and prepared for deployment to Europe to participate in World War I as a part of the American Expeditionary Force , along with the rest of the division . Two subordinate brigades were assigned to the headquarters , the 13th Infantry Brigade and the 14th Infantry Brigade . Most of the division sailed to Europe aboard the SS " Leviathan " . During its time in France , the headquarters company did not participate as a whole in any engagements , though its infantry and reconnaissance elements did engage German forces . On 22 September 1921 , the Headquarters Company , 7th Division was inactivated . On 1 July 1940 , the 7th Infantry Division was reactivated at Camp Ord , California Under the command of Major General Joseph W . Stilwell . The infantry brigade headquarters remained inactive during this period , until the division was reorganized under the Reorganization Objective Army Divisions plan . Post Korean War history . In the wake of the Korean War , between 1953 and 1971 , the 7th Infantry Division defended the Korean Demilitarized Zone . Its main garrison was Camp Casey , South Korea . During this period , the division was restructured in compliance with the Reorganization Objective Army Divisions tables of organization . In 1963 , the division ' s former headquarters company grew into the 1st Brigade , 7th Infantry Division . On 2 April 1971 , the division and its brigades returned to the United States and inactivated at Fort Lewis , Washington . In October 1974 the 7th and two brigades reactivated at their former garrison , Fort Ord ( a National Guard " roundout " brigade , the 41st , would periodically train with the division as its third brigade ) . The unit did not see any action in Vietnam or during the post war era , but was tasked to keep a close watch on South American developments . It trained at Fort Ord , Camp Roberts , and Fort Hunter Liggett . On 1 October 1985 the division redesignated as the 7th Infantry Division ( Light ) , organized again as a light infantry division . The various battalions of the 17th , 31st , and 32nd Regiments moved from the division , replaced by battalions from other regiments , including battalions from the 21st Infantry Regiment , the 27th Infantry Regiment , and the 9th Infantry Regiment . The 27th Infantry and the 9th Infantry Regiment participated in Operation Golden Pheasant in Honduras . In 1989 the 1st Brigade ( or 9th Infantry Regiment as it was more commonly known ) , 7th Infantry Division participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama . In 1991 the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the closing of Fort Ord due to the escalating cost of living on the Central California coastline . By 1994 , the garrison was to be closed and the Division was to relocate to Fort Lewis , Washington . Elements of the division ( the 2nd Brigade , to include its Headquarters and Headquarters Company , the 3rd Brigade ' s 3rd Battalion 17th Infantry Regiment and other assigned military police companies ) participated in one final mission in the United States before inactivation ; quelling the 1992 Los Angeles Riots , called Operation Garden Plot . In 1993 the division was slated to move to Fort Lewis , WA and inactivate as part of the post - Cold War drawdown of the US Army , but the 2nd and 3rd Brigades of the 7th inactivated at Ft . Ord in 1993 . The 1st Brigade relocated to Ft . Lewis and was later reflagged as the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division while the division headquarters formally inactivated on 16 June 1994 at Fort Lewis .