The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, also known as the Dagger Brigade, is a maneuver

brigade combat team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic Military deployment, deployable Military unit, unit of maneuver in the United States Army, U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver Brigade (United States Army), br ...

in the 1st Infantry Division of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas.

History

World War I

The 2nd Brigade was first constituted on 24 May 1917 as Headquarters, 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 1st Expeditionary Division, which was later designated as the 1st Division. * 2nd BDE 1st ID

Headquarters, 2nd Infantry Brigade ** 26th INF DUI

26th Infantry Regiment The 26th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army. Its nickname is "Blue Spaders", taken from the spade-like device on the regiment's distinctive unit insignia. The 26th Infantry Regiment is part of the U.S. Army Re ...

28th Infantry Regiment Since the establishment of the United States Army in 1775, three regiments have held the designation 28th Infantry Regiment. The first was a provisional unit that was constituted on 29 January 1813 and served during The War of 1812. The second ...

3rd Machine Gun Battalion The 2nd Brigade deployed to France in December 1917 with the rest of the 1st Infantry Division as part of the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

(AEF), as the American military was known in World War I. The brigade participated in many campaigns, including the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the

Battle of Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12–15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States agai ...

. The brigade redeployed at the end of World War I in August 1918.

Commanders 2nd Infantry Brigade

* 1917 # 7 June COL

Robert L. Bullard Lieutenant General Robert Lee Bullard (January 5, 1861 – September 11, 1947) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He was involved in conflicts in the American Western Frontier, the Philippines, and World War I, where he commanded ...

# 28 June BG

# 22 July Col. Charles A. Doyen, USMC (ad interim) # 9 August BG

# 14 August Col. Charles A. Doyen, USMC (ad interim) # 19 August BG

# 26 August Col. Charles A. Doyen, USMC (ad interim) # 29 August BG

# 4 September BG Beaumont B. Buck # 1 November COL Ferdinand W. Kobbe (ad interim) # 10 November BG Beaumont B. Buck * 1918 # 27 August BG Frank E. Bamford # 12 October COL

George C. Barnhardt George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

(ad interim) # 17 October BG

# 26 October BG Francis C. Marshall * 1919 # 2 February COL Fredrik L. Knudson (ad interim) # 17 February BG Francis C. Marshall # 29 May COL

Robert A. Brown Robert A. Brown (born July 22, 1951) is the 10th president of Boston University. He was formerly the provost of MIT. In 1991, Brown was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering for the application of computing techniques to ...

(ad interim) # 6 June BG Frank E. Bamford # 11 July COL

(ad interim) # 16 July BG Frank E. Bamford # 24 July COL

(ad interim) # 2 August COL Adolphe H. Huguet (ad interim) # 9 August to 4 September COL

World War II

At the start of World War II, the 2nd Brigade was stationed at

Fort Ontario Fort Ontario is an American historic bastion fort situated by the City of Oswego in Oswego County, New York. It is owned by the state of New York and operated as a museum known as Fort Ontario State Historic Site. Geography and early history F ...

at Oswego, New York. When the United States Army reorganized from the

square division A square division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a square organization, the division's main body is composed of four "maneuver," i.e., infantry regimental elements. Other types of regiments, such as artillery, ...

to the triangular division each division lost one regiment, (the 28th Infantry) and the brigade structure. The brigade was relieved from assignment to the 1st Infantry Division on 16 October 1939, and moved to

Pierrepont, New York Pierrepont (traditionally spelled Pierpont) is a town and hamlet in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 2,523. It was named after Hezekiah Pierrepont, the early owner of much of the to ...

as a Separate Infantry Brigade on 29 March 1940. The 2nd Infantry Brigade remained at Pierrepont, New York until 1 June 1940, when they returned to Fort Ontario; the 2nd Infantry Brigade was inactivated on the same day. After the army's conversion to the triangular division, only two separate brigades were formed during World War II, the 1st Airborne Infantry Brigade and the 2nd Airborne Infantry Brigade both formed in 1943. The 2nd Airborne Infantry Brigade was formed at

Camp Mackall Camp Mackall is an active U.S. Army training facility located in eastern Richmond County and northern Scotland County, North Carolina, south of the town of Southern Pines. The facility is in close proximity to and is a sub-installation of For ...

, North Carolina on 20 June 1943 and included the

507th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment (507th PIR), now the 507th Infantry Regiment, is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment was initially assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II be ...

and the

508th Infantry Regiment The 508th Infantry Regiment (508th PIR, 508th AIR, or 508th IR) ("Red Devils" or "Fury from the Sky") is an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, first formed in October 1942 during World War II. The 508th is a parent regiment ...

Order of battle

Headquarters and Headquarters Company In United States Army units, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within ...

(HHC) **

(507th PIR) ** US Army 508th Inf Reg DUI

508th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 508th Infantry Regiment (508th PIR, 508th AIR, or 508th IR) ("Red Devils" or "Fury from the Sky") is an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, first formed in October 1942 during World War II. The 508th is a parent regiment ...

(508th PIR) The 2nd Airborne Brigade deployed to Northern Ireland in January 1944 under the command of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

George Howell. In order to increase the strength of Major General

Matthew Ridgway General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Alth ...

's 82nd "All American" Airborne Division that had one of its regiments (the 504th Parachute Infantry) still deployed in Italy, the 2nd Brigade had its two regiments assigned to the 82nd, the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) also transferring to the 82nd. The 2nd Airborne Brigade was disbanded on 15 January 1945 in Europe.

Cold War

On 15 February 1958 the 2nd Infantry Brigade was re-activated at

Fort Devens Fort Devens is a United States Army Reserve military installation in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Due to extensive environmental contamination it was ...

, Massachusetts as the

Pentomic Pentomic (cf. ''Greek pent(e)-'' +''-tome'' "of five parts") was a structure for infantry and airborne divisions adopted by the US Army between 1957 and 1963, in response to the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons, on future battlefields. ...

2nd Infantry Brigade with its own shoulder sleeve insignia. It spent the next five years training in northern Massachusetts and

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. The Brigade was prepared to support the Marines landing in the

1958 Lebanon crisis The 1958 Lebanon crisis (also known as the Lebanese Civil War of 1958) was a political crisis in Lebanon caused by political and religious tensions in the country that included a United States military intervention. The intervention lasted for aro ...

but did not deploy.

Order of battle

(HHC) **

1st Battle Group, 4th Infantry ** 60th Infantry Regiment insigna

2nd Battle Group, 60th Infantry ** 76 FA Rgt DUI

1st

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

, 76th Artillery ** 34 Arm Regt DUI

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

F, 34th Armor ** 34 Arm Regt DUI

Company G, 34th Armor ** 5thcav

Troop F, 5th Cavalry ** US Army Quartermaster Regimental DUI

Brigade Trains ** US-Engineers-Regimental Insignia

2 Engineer Companies It was inactivated on 19 February 1963 at Fort Devens; in 1962 when it was reflagged as 2nd Brigade, 5th Infantry Division. It was reactivated on 23 October 1963 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and moved (with the rest of the Division) to Fort Riley, Kansas in January 1964.

Vietnam

On 12 July 1965, the 2nd Brigade landed at

Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilom ...

and

Vũng Tàu Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is the largest city of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province in southern Vietnam. The city area is , consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Sơn Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the p ...

, making it the first element of an Infantry Division to arrive in Vietnam. On 30 July 1969, the unit was visited by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Richard Nixon on his visit to South Vietnam. He met with the troops in Di An. The brigade returned to Fort Riley, Kansas in April 1970.

Gulf War

The Dagger Brigade deployed from Fort Riley, Kansas to Saudi Arabia in December 1990 as part of the United States' offensive buildup. The brigade was commanded by Colonel Anthony Moreno. The brigade was composed of 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry; 3d Battalion, 37th Armor; and 4th Battalion, 37th Armor, plus supporting units. The brigade redeployed to Fort Riley in May 1991.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

On 15 February 1996 the ''Dagger Brigade'' was relocated with the rest of the 1st Infantry Division to Europe. The ''Dagger Brigade'' replaced the

U.S. 3rd Infantry Division The 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) (nicknamed Rock of the Marne) is a combined arms division of the United States Army based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. It is a direct subordinate unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps and U.S. Army Forces Command. Its cu ...

's ''Raider Brigade'' in Schweinfurt, Germany. Also in February 1996 the ''Dagger Brigade'' deployed units to

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

to participate in

Operation Joint Endeavor The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background NAT ...

with the

US 1st Armored Division The 1st Armored Division, nicknamed "Old Ironsides," is a combined arms division of the United States Army. The division is part of III Armored Corps and operates out of Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U ...

. On 7 October 1996, the

Brigade Combat Team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic Military deployment, deployable Military unit, unit of maneuver in the United States Army, U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver Brigade (United States Army), br ...

deployed to

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

to cover the

's redeployment to Germany. The brigade participated in

and

Operation Joint Guard The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It ...

, and served as a stabilization force. The brigade redeployed to Schweinfurt in May 1997, except for the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor task force, which stayed in Bosnia until November 1997.

Kosovo

The ''Dagger Brigade'' served in Kosovo in 1999–2000 and again in 2002–03. The ''Dagger Brigade'' deployed to the Balkans twice in 1999, first as part of Task Force Sabre in Macedonia, then in Kosovo as part of Task Force Falcon. Task Force Falcon served as the U.S. component of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) with the mission of conducting peacekeeping operations in the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Y ...

'a Serbian Kosovo province. TF Falcon was under the command of the 1st Infantry Division and included elements from the 1st Armored Division. The ''Dagger Brigade'' entered the war-torn province of Kosovo on 12 June 1999. TF Falcon headquartered at Camp Bondsteel, and grew into a Multi-National Brigade, including units from Greece, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, and the UK. Initial efforts focused on monitoring and verifying the withdrawal of former

''(now Serbia and Montenegro)'' forces and later the demilitarization and transformation of the

Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the ...

. The ''Dagger Brigade'' rotated to Kosovo again in 2002, this time focused on maintaining the secure environment established by coalition forces.

Operation Iraqi Freedom II

In January 2003, elements of the ''Dagger Brigade'' deployed to Turkey to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. Initial efforts were to prepare the way for the

U.S. 4th Infantry Division The 4th Infantry Division is a division of the United States Army based at Fort Carson, Colorado. It is composed of a division headquarters battalion, three brigade combat teams (two Stryker and one armor), a combat aviation brigade, a divis ...

to invade Iraq from the north. When the Turkish government denied access through their border, the 2nd brigade returned to Germany. In February 2004, the ''Dagger Brigade'' deployed to northern Iraq to serve as part of the

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

force.
The

included: * 2nd BDE 1st ID

(HHC) **

1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment ** 26th INF DUI

1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment ** 108th Infantry DUI

2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment ** 1-77 AR DUI (Transparent)

1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment ** 4CavalryRegtDUI

Troop E, 4th Cavalry Regiment (Brigade Recon Troop) ** 7 FA Rgt DUI

1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment ** 9 Eng Bn DUI

9th Engineer Battalion The 9th Engineer Battalion is a unit of the United States Army that deploys to designated contingency areas and conducts combat and/or stability operations in support of a brigade combat team. It is a divisional mechanized combat engineer unit, c ...

299th Forward Support Battalion (299th BSB)

Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08

In August 2006 the 2nd Brigade Combat Team again deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from their home station in Schweinfurt, Germany. Task Force 1–26 (BLUE SPADERS) was sent ahead of the main body in an effort to curb the growing violence in Adamiyah, Shab and Uhr in North East

Baghdad, Iraq Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the list of largest cities in the Arab world, second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the ...

. The Dagger BCT followed in September 2006 and assumed the mission as the CENTCOM reserve, positioned in Kuwait. Shortly after arrival in Kuwait, TF 1–77 AR (STEEL TIGERS) was deployed to Ramadi and TF 1–18 IN (VANGUARDS) was deployed to FOB Falcon, in the Rashid District of

. The BCT Headquarters along with the 9th Engineers (GILAS), 1–7 FA (FIRST LIGHTNING), the 299th Forward Support Battalion (LIFELINE) and the BCT's four separate companies, were deployed to Camp Liberty, Baghdad. The DAGGER BCT assumed responsibility for Coalition force activities in northwest Baghdad in late October 2006 following Operation Together Forward II. The BCT assumed command of 3 task forces already in Sector; TF 1–22 (REGULARS) in the Abu Ghraib area west of Baghdad, TF 8–10 CAV (ROUGH RIDERS) in the Ameriyah district and TF 1-23IN (TOMAHAWK), a Stryker infantry task force which operated mainly in the Ghazaliyah and Shulla districts of Baghdad. Throughout the BCT's tour of duty, they effectively integrated and employed a total of nine attached task forces including TF 1-22IN, TF 8-10CAV, TF 1-23IN, TF 2-8CAV, TF 2–12 CAV, TF 1-325AIR, TF 1-5CAV, TF 2-32FA and TF 1–64 AR. TF 1-22IN (1st BCT, 4th ID) transitioned the Abu Ghraib district to TF 2-8CAV (1st BCT, 1st CAV). TF 8–10 CAV (4th BCT, 4th ID) transitioned Ameriyah and Khadra to TF 1–5 CAV (2nd BCT, 1st CAV). TF 1-23IN (3/2 STRYKER) transitioned Ghazaliyah to TF 2-12CAV (4th BCT, 1st CAV) and the Tomahawks assumed responsibilities in Hurriyah and Khadamiyah. TF 1-325AIR (2nd BCT, 82nd) arrived as part of the surge and assumed responsibilities for Khadamiyah, Hurriyah and some of the most dangerous Shia zones in Baghdad. TF 1-64AR (3ID) relieved TF 1-5CAV for Khadra and Mansour, enabling TF 1-5CAV to fully focus efforts against Sunni extremists in Ameriyah. TF 2-32FA (4th BCT, 1st ID) assumed responsibilities for Yarmouk and Hateen, completing the DAGGER BCT stance for OIF 06-08. For the bulk of its deployment, DAGGER BCT employed five maneuver task forces, from five different BCTs from five different installations in the Continental United States. Throughout the tour, 1-7FA was attached to the Victory Base Defense Force, but provided fire support to the Dagger BCT's efforts across Northwest Baghdad. The 9th Engineers established a route clearing capability dubbed "DAGGER IRON CLAW" which served to clear more than 50% of the routes in support of BCT, division and corps level efforts in Baghdad. The 299th Forward Support Battalion established a vital logistics support area in support of MND-Baghdad, and sustained the BCT and all attached and detached formations while concurrently operating the division detainee holding area annex. Dagger BCT ultimately established 14 joint security stations, multiple safe neighborhoods and formally partnered with the Iraqi Security Forces in the Khadamiyah and Mansour Security Districts. Under Dagger BCT OPERATION MARBLE ARCH, sectarian violence was significantly reduced as the BCT fought to stop the expansion of Shia and Sunni criminals and extremists from the North East and West/South West respectively. The BCT and ISF leadership joined forces with the Arrowhead Stryker BCT for OPERATION ARROWHEAD STRIKE 9, which enabled a true combined forces approach to eliminating Sunni extremist from critical areas across the Mansour and Khadamiyah security districts. These combined efforts fully integrated Coalition, ISF and Iraqi municipal service efforts and enabled the rapid expansion of safe neighborhoods and increased Iraqi civilian participation in the security and services efforts. Under Dagger BCT OPERATION SEVENTH VEIL, corrupt ISF and governmental officials' influence was significantly reduced with several key, senior-level officials arrested. SEVENTH VEIL was conducted in full partnership with the leadership of the Kharkh Area Command. OPERATION SWITCHBLADE enabled the effective integration of volunteer security forces into the combined security plan of the Dagger BCT and partnered units of the Iraqi Kharkh Area Command, to include the combined units of the Khadamiyah and Mansour Security Districts. OPERATION OUR TOWN effectively linked the security apparatus with the essential services apparatus and served as a nexus for positive, real economic and essential service growth across northwest Baghdad. The BCT effectively transitioned Coalition force responsibilities to the 2nd BCT of the 101st in November 2007 and the Brigade re-deployed to Schweinfurt, Germany. 61 soldiers from the brigade died during the deployment.

Return to CONUS

On 16 March 2008, 1st Infantry Division's presence in Europe formally ended when the 2nd (Dagger) Brigade in Schweinfurt, Germany reflagged as the 172nd Infantry Brigade. As part of the

Grow the Army Grow the Army was a transformation and restationing initiative of the United States Army announced in 2007. The initiative was designed to grow the U.S. Army's force by almost 75,000 soldiers, while realigning a large portion of the force in Europ ...

Plan announced 19 Dec 2007, the 172nd is one of two infantry brigades that will be activated and retained in Germany until 2012 and 2013. The other brigade is the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division in Baumholder, Germany, which was reflagged to 170th Infantry Brigade on 15 July 2009. On 28 March 2008, the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division (HBCT) inactivated at Fort Riley. The soldiers and equipment currently assigned were reflagged as 2d (Dagger) Brigade, 1st Infantry Division (HBCT), aligning all units on Fort Riley under the 1st Infantry Division.

Return to Iraq

In 2008, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team was composed of: * 2nd BDE 1st ID

Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) ** 4CavalryRegtDUI

5th Squadron,

4th Cavalry Regiment The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against American Indians on the Texas frontier. Today, the regiment exis ...

1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment ** 70 Arm Rgt DUI

2nd Battalion,

70th Armor Regiment The 70th Armor Regiment is an armored (tank) unit of the United States Army. It was constituted as the 70th Tank Battalion in July 1940, an independent tank battalion intended to provide close support to infantry units. In this role, it saw acti ...

1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment ** 7_FA_Rgt_DUI

1st Battalion,

7th Field Artillery Regiment The 7th Field Artillery Regiment is a United States Army field artillery regiment, whose lineage traces back to the early 20th century. Note that the lineage of the "7th Regiment of Artillery" constituted 8 March 1898 is carried by the 7th Ai ...

299th Brigade Support Battalion (299th BSB) ** Special_Troops_Battalion,_2BDE,_1ID_DUI

Special Troops Battalion A special troops battalion (STB) is an organic unit of a modular brigade, division (or equivalent), corps or higher echelon United States Army organization. It may comprise companies from different branches of the army, but typically has a Headqua ...

(STB) On 30 September 2008, the Dagger Brigade Combat Team held its deployment ceremony on the Cavalry Parade Field at Fort Riley, KS. In October 2008 the Dagger Brigade deployed to North West Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, they returned to Fort Riley September 2009 and then received the Meritorious Unit Commendation for their efforts in the support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Operation New Dawn

In November 2010, the Dagger Brigade deployed to Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn as an advise and assist brigade. The brigade was the only maneuver brigade in Baghdad and partnered with 7 Iraqi Army and Federal Police divisions and 2 corp level commands, which constituted half of the Iraqi government's security forces. They redeployed in November 2011.

AFRICOM

In 2013, the brigade was designated as the main force for

Africom The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM), is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U. ...

Operation Atlantic Resolve

The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division has deployed to EUCOM as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve in September 2017. DaggerBrigadeStaff

Current Organization

; 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (2nd ABCT) (''Dagger Brigade'') * 2nd BDE 1st ID

Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) ** 4CavalryRegtDUI

5th Squadron,

1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment ''Vanguards'' ** 63dArRegmt

1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment ''Dragons'' ** 70 Arm Rgt DUI

2nd Battalion,

''Thunder Bolts'' ** 7 FA Rgt DUI

1st Battalion,

(1-7th FAR) ''First Lightning'' ** 82 Eng Bn DUI

82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion (82nd BEB) ** 299 Spt Bn DUI

299th Brigade Support Battalion (299th BSB) ''Lifeline''

Distinctive unit insignia

On 11 December 1980 the 2nd Brigade was authorized their own distinctive unit insignia (DUI). It is described as "a silver device 1 inches in height overall consisting of a blue arrowhead on which is superimposed a silver lion." The blue arrowhead and silver lion come from the brigade's two original regiments, the

("Blue Spades") and the

("Black Lions"). Since both the 1st and 2nd Brigades of the 1st Infantry Division were formed before the division, they are authorized their own DUI.

Lineage

*Constituted 24 May 1917 in the Regular Army as Headquarters, 2nd Infantry Brigade, and assigned to the 1st Expeditionary Division (later redesignated as the 1st Division) *Organized 8 June 1917 at New York City *Reorganized and redesignated 1 April 1921 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Infantry Brigade *Redesignated 23 March 1925 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade *Redesignated 24 August 1936 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Infantry Brigade *Relieved 11 October 1939 from assignment to the 1st Division *Inactivated 1 June 1940 at

, New York *Redesignated 30 June 1943 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Airborne Infantry Brigade, and activated at

, North Carolina *Disbanded 15 January 1945 in Europe *Reconstituted 12 February 1958 in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Infantry Brigade *Activated 15 February 1958 at

, Massachusetts *Inactivated 19 February 1962 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts *Redesignated 23 October 1963 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division *Activated 2 January 1964 at Fort Riley, Kansas

Honors

Campaign participation credit

* World War I # Montdidier-Noyon # Aisne-Marne # St. Mihiel # Meuse-Argonne # Lorraine 1917 # Lorraine 1918 # Picardy 1918 * World War II # Normandy * Vietnam # Defense # Counteroffensive # Counteroffensive, Phase II # Counteroffensive, Phase III # Tet Counteroffensive # Counteroffensive, Phase IV # Counteroffensive, Phase V # Counteroffensive, Phase VI # Tet 69/Counteroffensive # Summer-Fall 1969 # Winter-Spring 1970 * Southwest Asia # Defense of Saudi Arabia # Liberation and Defense of Kuwait # Cease-Fire

Decorations

* Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for VIETNAM 1969 *

Army Superior Unit Award The Superior Unit Award is a decoration of the United States Army which is awarded in peacetime to any unit of the Army which displays outstanding meritorious performance of a difficult and challenging mission carried out under extraordinary circum ...

for 1996–1997 *

Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal w ...

with Palm for VIETNAM 1965–1968 *

Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal The Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Medal ( vi, Dân-Vụ Bội-Tinh) also known as the Vietnam Civil Actions Medal or Civil Actions Medal, is a military decoration of the former South Vietnamese government (1955–75). The medal was create ...

, First Class for VIETNAM 1965–1970 * Valorous Unit Award for Desert Shield / Desert Storm December 1990- May 1991 * Valorous Unit Award for SAMARRA October 2004 – November 2004 * Valorous Unit Award for IRAQ February 2004 – February 2005 ( not on HRC Site) * Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM 06-08 * Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM 08-09 * Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) OPERATION NEW DAWN 10–11 * Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE 15-16

Notes

References

Global Security
Retrieved 17 July 2005
2nd Brigade Official Website
Retrieved 17 July 2005
Society of the Big Red One
Retrieved 17 July 2005

Retrieved 17 July 2005

Retrieved 17 July 2005 *Draft of ''2nd Brigade History'', compiled and edited by CPT Ross, 2nd Brigade Historian. Courtesy of CPT Ross. 26 July 2005 *

{{DEFAULTSORT:001 02 Infantry 001 02 Infantry 001 02 Infantry 001 02 Military units and formations established in 1917