The 172nd Infantry Brigade was a light infantry brigade of the United States Army stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska and later moved its headquarters to Grafenwöhr, Germany. An active duty independent brigade, it was part of V Corps and was one of five active-duty, separate, brigade combat teams in the U.S. Army before its most recent inactivation on 31 May 2013.

First activated in 1917, the brigade was deployed to France during World War I and used to reinforce front-line units. The brigade's actions in France during that time are not completely clear. It would later be converted to a reconnaissance unit that was deployed during World War II and saw several months of combat in the European Theatre. The brigade has multiple tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2005 until 2006 and from 2008 until 2010 and in Operation Enduring Freedom from 2011 until 2012. Its infamous 16-month deployment was one of the longest deployments for a unit serving in the OIF campaign. Most recently the brigade served a 12-month tour in Afghanistan from 2011 until 2012.

The unit has been activated and inactivated numerous times, and has also seen several redesignations. The 172nd was one of the first brigade combat teams before it was deactivated in 2006. Reactivated in 2008 from another reflagged unit, it immediately prepared for another tour of duty in Iraq. Following a series of budget cuts and force structure reductions, the unit formally inactivated on 31 May 2013 in Grafenwöhr, Germany.

Organization

The brigade was a separate unit and did not report to a higher division-level headquarters, but instead reported directly to the V Corps of United States Army Europe. The Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the unit was located at Grafenwöhr, Germany.172nd Infantry.army.mil , 172d Infantry Brigade Staff. Retrieved 27 June 2008. The Unit also contained the 1st Battalion, 2d Infantry,1–2 Infantry Homepage , 1–2 Infantry Staff. Retrieved 27 June 2008. the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry,2–28 Infantry Homepage , 2–28 Infantry Staff. Retrieved 27 June 2008. the 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery,1–77 Field Artillery Homepage , 1–77 Field Artillery Staff. Retrieved 27 June 2008. the 9th Engineer Battalion,9th Engineer Battalion Homepage , 9th Engineer Battalion Staff. Retrieved 27 June 2008 the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor,3–66 Armor Homepage , 3–66 Armor Staff. Retrieved 27 June 2008. and the 172nd Forward Support Battalion.172nd Support Battalion Homepage, 172nd Support Battalion Staff. Retrieved 27 June 2008. In addition, the brigade contained three independent companies; 504th Military Intelligence Company,172D IN BDE Newsletter, 172ND IN BDE Staff. Retrieved 11 June 2009. Archived 14 June 2009. and Echo Troop (AIR), 1st Cavalry Regiment,172nd Infantry "Blackhawk Brigade": Blackhawk Organization . 172d Infantry Brigade Staff. Retrieved 27 June 2008. the 57th Signal Company.57th Signal Company Homepage , 57th Signal Company Staff. Retrieved 27 June 2008. All of these subordinate units were last located in Grafenwöhr.March 2008 Today's Focus 17 Mar 2008 Edition, Stand To! Magazine. Retrieved 27 June 2008.

History World War I The 172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate), officially titled the "172d Infantry Brigade", was first constituted on 5 August 1917 in the National Army as the 172nd Infantry Brigade.172nd Blackhawk Brigade History , United States Army. Retrieved 7 June 2008. It was organized on the 25th of that month at Camp Grant, in Rockford, Illinois and assigned to the 86th Infantry Division.Little, John G., Jr. The Official History of the 86th Division. Chicago: States Publications Society, 1921. The brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Lincoln Clark Andrews, was assigned to the 86th Division and deployed to Europe for duty during World War I. It arrived in Bordeaux, France, in September 1918 The combat record of the unit during its World War I service is not clear, but it is known that the 86th Division was depleted when much of its force was used to reinforce other units already on the front lines.172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) "Snow Hawks", GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 28 June 2008. Thus, the brigade received a World War I campaign streamer without an inscription, as it was not known to have fought in any engagements. After a cease-fire was signed in 1918, the Brigade returned to the United States. It was demobilized in January 1919 at Camp Grant, and the camp itself was abandoned in 1921.

On 24 June 1921 the unit was reconstituted in the Organized Reserves as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172nd Infantry Brigade, and again assigned to the 86th Division. It was organized in January 1922 at Springfield, Illinois and went through several redesignations, including Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172nd Brigade, on 23 March 1925 and Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172nd Infantry Brigade on 24 August 1936.

World War II The Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172nd Infantry Brigade, was converted and redesignated the 3rd Platoon, 86th Reconnaissance Troop, and assigned to the 86th Infantry Division on 31 March 1942, while the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 171st Infantry Brigade, became the remainder of the 86th Reconnaissance Troop. On 15 December 1942 the troop was mobilized and reorganized at Camp Howze, in Gainesville, Texas, as the 86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, only to be reorganized and redesignated again on 5 August 1943 as the 86th Reconnaissance Troop, Mechanized. For the majority of the US involvement in World War II it remained stateside, participating in the Third Army #5 Louisiana Maneuvers in 1943, among other exercises, until finally staging at Camp Myles Standish, at Boston, Massachusetts on 5 February 1945 and shipping out from Boston on 19 February 1945.

The 86th Reconnaissance Troop arrived in France on 1 March 1945, acclimated and trained, and then moved to Köln, Germany, and participated in the relief of the 8th Infantry Division in defensive positions near Weiden which is now part of Lindenthal on 28–29 March 1945. During its few months of combat duty in Europe, the troop participated in amphibious assaults across was Danube, Bigge, Altmuhl, Isar, Inn, Mittel-Isar and Salzach rivers in Germany and Austria. It was assigned to First, Third, Seventh, and Fifteenth US Armies. The unit was at Salzburg on 7 May 1945 (V-E Day). It was then sent back stateside to prepare for operation in the Pacific. Arriving back in New York City on 17 June 1945, the unit proceeded to Camp Gruber in Braggs, Oklahoma before staging at Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California on 14 August 1945. The unit shipped out from San Francisco on 21 August 1945 and arrived in the Philippines on 7 September 1945, five days after the Japanese surrender.

The Cold War On 10 October 1945 the 86th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) was again redesignated the 86th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop before finally being inactivated on 30 December 1946 while still stationed in the Philippines. However, the 86th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop was reactivated again on 9 July 1952 as part of the Army Reserve. It continued serving within the Army Reserve for some years. Activation of the brigade with its new structure took place on 1 July 1963 at Fort Richardson, Alaska.McGrath, p. 238.

The Army set up an experimental Airborne unit with the designation of Company F (Airborne), 4th Battle Group, 23d Infantry in 1962 at Fort Richardson. The company commander was Captain Lawrence. When Army combat forces were reorganized from the Pentomic division battle groups to brigades with subordinate battalions, the group became the 4th Battalion, 23d Infantry and its Airborne component was Company C. The unit was used to determine how best to use Airborne soldiers in Arctic conditions throughout the vast area of Alaska.

The new structure included one Light Infantry Battalion; one Mechanized Infantry Battalion; and one Tank Company.Paternostro, Anthony. "The Alaska Brigade: Arctic Intelligence and Some Strategic Considerations." Military Intelligence 6 (October–December 1980):47–50. Its shoulder sleeve insignia was authorized for use on 28 August 1963US Army official page 172nd Infantry Brigade , The US Army. Retrieved 15 March 2013. and its distinctive unit insignia was authorized on 8 June 1966.Meiners, Theodore J. "They Climb the Crags." Army Digest 22 (April 1967):36–38. The Brigade was reorganized from Mechanized Infantry to Light Infantry on 30 June 1969, with a reduction to two mechanized infantry battalions.Bender, John A. "Dynamic Training Arctic Style: A Report from Alaska." Infantry 62 (November–December 1972):36–37. In 1974 the 172nd Infantry Brigade was reorganized again to include three light infantry battalions.Boatner, James G. "Rugged Training on the 'Last Frontier.' Supersoldiers of the North." Army 26 (November 1976):27–30.

Colonel Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. volunteered for an assignment in Alaska, and in late 1974 became deputy commander of the 172nd Infantry Brigade at Fort Richardson, Alaska. In October 1976 Schwarzkopf departed for another assignment at Fort Lewis, Washington.

US Army Alaska was known as USARAL through the 60s and 70s, whereas after the activation of the 6th Infantry Division it was known as USARAK. The two Arctic brigades, the 171st (4-9th Infantry, 1-47th Infantry [which was subsequently deactivated], and other components at Fort Wainwright) and the 172d (4-23d Infantry, 1-60th Infantry, 1-37th Artillery, 561st Combat Engineer Company, and other components at Fort Richardson) were consolidated in 1973 with the drawdown after Viet Nam. There was an administrative split between the "LIB" (Light Infantry Brigade) and the "Brigade Alaska", with the 1-43d Air Defense, 222d Aviation, 56th MP Company, 23d Construction Engineer Company, Northern Warfare Training Center- then at Fort Greely,' being assigned.

The brigade was again inactivated on 15 April 1986 at Fort Richardson, Alaska, being reflagged as part of the newly reformed 6th Infantry Division.

Transformation In the late 1990s, Army leaders including General Eric Shinseki began shifting the Army force toward brigade centered operations. All separate brigades had been deactivated in the 1990s as part of the US Army's drawdown following the end of the Cold War.McGrath, p. xi. These inactivations, along with the subsequent reorganization of US Army divisions, saw several divisional brigades stationed in bases that were far from the division's headquarters and support units. These brigades had difficulty operating without support from higher headquarters. Light infantry is a designation applied to certain types of foot soldiers (infantry) throughout history, typically having air assault and airborne qualified members with lighter equipment or armament or a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought as skirmishers, reconnaissance, hidden shock and awe attacks, basically guerilla warfare—soldiers who fight in a loose formation ahead of the main army to harass, delay and generally "soften up" an enemy before the main battle. Today, the term "light infantry" generally refers to units (including commandos and airborne units) that specifically emphasize speed and mobility over armor and firepower, to units that historically held a skirmishing role.