1st Brigade logo | |
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Active | 1917 – present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army |
Nickname(s) | "Iron Horse" |
Engagements | |
Website | Official Homepage |
The 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division (the "Iron Horse Brigade") was constituted 29 August 1917 in the United States Army as Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Brigade. The brigade was organized as part of the 15th Cavalry Division in February 1917 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
The brigade's initial wartime service was patrolling the United States–Mexico border, until demobilization on 14 July 1919, at Brownsville, Texas. Operating from horseback, the cavalry was charged with halting the band of smugglers that operated along the desolate Mexican border, performing duties that are today performed by the United States Border Patrol.
The brigade was later reconstituted 20 August 1920 in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Cavalry Brigade, an element of the 1st Cavalry Division. On 1 September 1921, the unit organized at Camp Harry J. Jones, in Douglas, Arizona.
The brigade fought as infantry in the Pacific Theater of World War II, as did the entire 1st Cavalry Division. It fought on New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Philippines, earning both the United States and the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation. The brigade deactivated 2 March 1949 in Japan and was relieved from assignment from the 1st Cavalry Division.