3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
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The 3rd Brigade Combat Team,
10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in ...
is an
infantry brigade combat team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, and its assigned support and fire units. A brigade is normally commanded by ...
of the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
based at
Fort Johnson Fort Polk, formerly Fort Johnson, is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville, Louisiana, Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRid ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. Since its activation in 2004, the brigade has deployed four times to Afghanistan in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...
. In 2014, the brigade inactivated at
Fort Drum Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, near the western border of northern New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. ...
, NY, and its infantry battalions were reassigned to other brigades while its special troops battalion, field artillery battalion, brigade support battalion and cavalry squadron were inactivated. The brigade reactivated at Fort Polk, LA in 2015 by re-flagging the assets of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, which was inactivated. The infantry, cavalry and field artillery battalions of the 4th Brigade were reassigned to the 3rd Brigade. The brigade deployed to Iraq in 2017 in support of
Operation Inherent Resolve {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Operation Inherent Resolve , partof = the international military intervention against the Islamic State and the War on terror , image = , caption = U.S. Navy B ...
. The brigade deployed to the Southwest Border in 2019 in support of Operation Faithful Patriot. From 2016 to 2019, while still part of the 10th Mountain Division, the brigade wore the patch of the 36th Infantry Division through the Army's Associated Unit Pilot program. More recently, Brigade assets participated in Defender Europe 24 conducting exercises across Norway and NATO’s two newest members, Sweden and Finland. The Patriot Brigade fully rotated into the U.S. Army V Corps’ mission, Operation Atlantic Resolve, to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank along with conducting exercises with NATO allies across Europe.


3rd BCT "Spartans", 10th MTN DIV (LI)

The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI) was established in September 2004. The six subordinate battalions were first brought together in September 2004 with a specific mission, making them unique among other Army entities: to support Operation Enduring Freedom, which they would go on to do with four deployments to Afghanistan. The 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment; 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment; 4th Battalion, 25th Artillery Regiment; 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment; 710th Brigade Support Battalion; and 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion were brought together to form the Spartans of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI). They served in both the Regional Command East and the Regional Command South areas of responsibility, a vast area of Afghanistan encompassing approximately 124,000 square miles of a rugged and frequently hostile land. They first deployed to Afghanistan in February 2006 (Operation Enduring Freedom rotations VII), where they fought the Taliban in the mountainous terrain of the Afghan-Pakistani border. It was during this deployment that SFC Jared C. Monti, of 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, earned the Medal of Honor while protecting his soldiers from an overwhelming Taliban attack on his unit's position. When the Spartan Brigade redeployed to Fort Drum after 16 months, the Afghan people nicknamed them "the Tribe of the Crossed Swords". In January 2009, the Spartan Brigade deployed again to Afghanistan, returning to RC-East, where they were tasked with providing security for the Logar and Wardak provinces as well as the southern entrance to the country's capital. This deployment also resulted in another Spartan Brigade Soldier, Capt.
William D. Swenson William D. Swenson (born November 2, 1978) is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army who was awarded the Medal of Honor in a ceremony on October 15, 2013. He was the sixth living recipient in the War on Terror. Early life and educatio ...
, being awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during an intense, six-hour-long battle with insurgents, effectively disrupting their assault. Not long after, the Spartan Brigade found itself once again being called upon to deploy to Afghanistan. Departing in March 2011, 3rd BCT Soldiers were sent to Kandahar Province. Located in the RC-South area of responsibility, Kandahar is also the birthplace of the Taliban. The Spartan Soldiers set about conducting both lethal and nonlethal missions to break the insurgent's grip on the province. The missions were conducted under three main operations – "To the River", "To the Core" and "To the Summit", which maintained continuous pressure on the enemy, eventually driving them out of their place of inception. In doing so, the Spartan Brigade advanced farther south than any of the previous coalition forces before their arrival. The brigade was also responsible for opening 22 schools and three medical clinics, as well as securing and refurbishing more than 50 kilometers of Highway 1, the national highway for southern Afghanistan. Through it all, the 3rd BCT built upon and reinforced their "" partnership with the Afghan security forces and government leaders. means "shoulder to shoulder" in the Pashto language. The strengthened ties between the Spartan Brigade and their Afghan partners resulted in a marked increase in the security and governance of an area that had been at war for 30 years. The Spartan Brigade embarked on its final deployment to Afghanistan in October 2013, not long after the announcement of their inactivation. The 3rd BCT deployed once again to
Regional Command East In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
, but this time, as a newly configured security force advise and assist brigade. An SFAAB differs from a standard brigade combat team in many ways. However, the most notable differences are a considerably smaller number of personnel and the almost total emphasis placed on the utilization of several, highly specialized
Security force advise and assist team A Military Transition Team or Transition Team, commonly abbreviated as MiTT, in the context of the United States Military, is a 10 – 15 soldier team that trains foreign national and local security forces. The term has been used in the " War on ...
s, or SFAATs. Although they deployed as a smaller contingent, they assumed responsibility for most of the provinces in the region – among them Wardak, Logar, Ghazni, Khost, Paktia, and Paktika – thus relieving a division-size element. The brigade partnered with the Afghan National Army's 203rd Corps, sharing their expertise, helping them to grow their capabilities as they continued to assume responsibility for the security of their nation and its people. The Afghans were able to successfully hold a grand council of leaders, also known as a Loya Jirga in Pashto, as well as the Ghazni Islamic festival, which was attended by dignitaries and followers from around the world. The Spartan Brigade also guided the Afghan security forces as they conducted their national presidential election, along with the ensuing run-off election.


Order of battle

When established in 2004, the brigade consisted of: *Headquarters and Headquarters Company *3rd Squadron,
71st Cavalry Regiment The 71st Cavalry was originally constituted on 3 December 1941 in the Army of the United States as the 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion. History The unit was activated on 15 December 1941 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The unit saw action throughout Wo ...
*1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment *2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment *4th Battalion,
25th Field Artillery Regiment The 25th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army, first constituted 5 July 1918 in the National Army (USA). Although the regiment did not see action during World War I, elements participated in World War ...
*3rd Brigade's
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 Headq ...
*710th Brigade Support Battalion In February 2014, the brigade inactivated most of its elements at Fort Drum, and reflagged using the assets of the
4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division ("Patriot Brigade") is an inactive infantry brigade combat team of the United States Army. Based at Fort Polk, Louisiana, the brigade was active from 2005 to 2015. It was part of the 10th Mountai ...
at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Most of the assigned battalions of the 4th Brigade were reassigned to the 3rd Brigade. The 3rd Brigade currently consists of: *Headquarters and Headquarters Company *2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment *2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment *2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment *5th Battalion,
25th Field Artillery Regiment The 25th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army, first constituted 5 July 1918 in the National Army (USA). Although the regiment did not see action during World War I, elements participated in World War ...
*317th Brigade Engineer Battalion *710th Brigade Support Battalion As part of the US Army's reorganization to provide each brigade combat team with a third maneuver battalion, the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment joined the brigade. In June 2024 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment was inactivated at Fort Johnson, LA as part of a wider Brigade reorganization.


Lineage and honors


Lineage

*Constituted 16 September 2004 in the Regular Army as Headquarters, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, and activated at Fort Drum, New York"Lineage and Honors Information: 3d Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division", Center for Military History, 25 May 2011, accessed 18 October 2017. .


Campaign participation credit

*War on Terrorism: Afghanistan: Consolidation I; Additional Campaigns to be determined


Decorations

*Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer Embroidered AFGHANISTAN 2006-2007 *Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer Embroidered AFGHANISTAN 2009 *Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for the period 31 October 2013 to 19 July 2014 *Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer Embroidered AFGHANISTAN 2015-2016


References


External links


Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division Home Page
– official site.

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608031130/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/div/010md4bct.htm , date=8 June 2010
3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division official Facebook Page
* https://twitter.com/3_10MTNPatriots * https://www.flickr.com/photos/97780128@N02/sets/ M 010 03 M 010 03 10th Mountain Division (United States) Military units and formations established in 2004