3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division

“Grey Wolf”

The 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, was first constituted on 29 August 1917.  It was organized in December 1917 as Headquarters, 3rd Cavalry Brigade, and an element of the 15th Cavalry division at Camp Harry J. Jones, Arizona.  The Brigade demobilized on 15 July 1919.

The Brigade was reconstituted on 10 August 1921, joining the newly constituted 1st Cavalry Division.  On 15 July, 1942 the Brigade was converted and re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 9th Armored Division Trains, and the unit deployed to the European theater where it received campaign participation credit for the operations in Rhineland, Ardennes Alsace, and Central Europe.  The unit was awarded two Meritorious Unit Commendations with streamers embroidered Europe 1944 and Europe 1945.

Following World War II, the unit returned to the United States and was inactivated. It remained inactive until 15 July 1963, when it was relieved from assignment to the 9th Armored Division, converted, and re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

The Brigade was activated on 1 September 1963, with the Division on station in Korea at the Demilitarized Zone.  In July 1965, the Division moved to Fort Benning, Georgia and underwent reorganization as an Airmobile Unit.  The Brigade sailed from Charleston, South Carolina, to Quo Nhon, Republic of Vietnam, on 17 September 1965.  The first major action undertaken by the Brigade began on 10 October 1965, and was followed by participation in the Ia Drang Valley operation known as the Pleiku Campaign.  For its exceptional performance in the campaign, the Brigade shares with the Division a Presidential Unit Citation.  In 1966 and 1967, the 3rd Brigade participated in a variety of operations, including clearing the An Lap Basin.

Although 26 March 1971 officially marked the end of duties in Vietnam for the 1st Cavalry Division, President Nixon’s program of “Vietnamization” required the continued presence of a strong US fighting force to remain “in country”.  On 30 April 1971, 3rd Brigade (Separate), known as the “GARRYOWEN TASK FORCE”, was organized and activated to carry out the continuing mission of the 1st Cavalry Division. The mission of the unit, composed of experienced, specialized fighting units, was to continue the interdiction of enemy infiltration and supply routes in War Zone D, known as “Cav Country”.

To carry out the mission, the 3rd Brigade was assigned to a very large area encompassing thirty-five hundred square miles and defensive responsibility for the eastern approaches toward vital Saigon and Long Binh.  As a result the Brigade was reconstituted with seven recycled battalions as well as sixteen companies and platoons.

By 14 December, 1971, the 3rd Brigade began an infusion with a rash of transferred units from other redeploying Divisions, such as the 101st Airborne, at a rate of 500 Soldiers per week. Regardless of “Bush” time, the new arrivals were sent through the Brigade Combat Training Center. By the end of 1971, the 3rd Brigade had an assigned strength of 7,632 Soldiers and continued its four fold mission of defending the Saigon and Long Binh military complex, training Vietnamese Soldiers, ready to move into other military regions as a security fire brigade and preparing to execute various late-war contingency plans.

Finally in 1972, the Brigade left Vietnam for Fort Hood, Texas, to rejoin the rest of the 1st Cavalry Division.  When its colors arrived at Fort Hood on 29 June 1972, the unit officially became the “GREYWOLF” Brigade.  The Brigade underwent a change from an Airmobile configuration to an Infantry Heavy Brigade.  The “GREYWOLF” Brigade remained with the Division until its inactivation in 1980.  It remained on the inactive roles until 21 May 1991, when the 1st “Tiger” Brigade, 2nd Armored Division was re-designated as the 3rd “GREYWOLF” Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.  Since that time, the Brigade deployed Task Force sized elements to the Emirate of Kuwait, and in 1996, conducted the first Post-Desert Storm, no-notice, Brigade-sized deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Desert Strike.

On 1 November, 2002 the 1st Cavalry Division unfurled the guidon of the unit that become the third element representing the beginning of the changeover of the Division organization to the FORCE XXI configuration, “F” Troop, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd “GREYWOLF” Brigade.

In support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II, the Brigade returned to the Middle East in 2004 to the capital city of Baghdad with responsibility for the security of the “International Zone”.  The Brigade conducted combat operations in the violent Haifa Street neighborhood during the beginning of the insurgency in Iraq, setting the security conditions to conduct the first free national Iraqi elections within that critical area.

The “GREYWOLF” Brigade deployed again to Iraq in 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08.  The Brigade was responsible for the Diyala Province and the capital city of Baqubah and conducted operations in the Salah ah Din Province.  The “GREYWOLF” Brigade was responsible for defeating al Qaeda in Baqubah along with the restoration of stability and civil services throughout the Diyala Province.

In December 2007, the “GREYWOLF” Brigade deployed to Iraq for a third time.  Responsible for the Ninewa Province in northern Iraq, the Brigade conducted full-spectrum operations to neutralize Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and Irreconcilable Elements to improve security, stimulate economic growth and create enduring stability.  In accordance with the Security Agreement, the “GREYWOLF” Brigade moved operations outside of cities and transitioned security primacy within Mosul and Tal Afar to the Iraqi Security Forces.  The Brigade continued to conduct full-spectrum operations outside of Mosul to prevent insurgents from using the Mosul Belts as support zones to conduct attacks within the city, setting the conditions for National Elections of Iraq.

The 3rd Brigade’s third deployment to Iraq began in December 2008 as part of OIF 08-10 during the “Iraqi Sovereignty” phase of the OIF campaign.  The brigade was responsible for the Ninewa Province in northern Iraq and the cities of Mosul and Tal Afar.  “GREYWOLF” Troopers conducted full-spectrum operations to neutralize al-Qaeda in Iraq to improve security and stimulate economic security and create enduring stability.  In accordance with the Status of Forces Agreement of June 2008, the 3rd Brigade moved operations outside of cities and transitioned security primacy to the Iraqi Security Forces.  Their efforts stabilized the region and set the conditions for Iraq’s National Elections.  Again earning a Meritorious Unit Commendation the brigade returned to Fort Hood to reset and retrain.

During the “GREYWOLF” Brigade’s fifth and final deployment to Iraq they were assigned a complex area of operations that encompassed the four southern-most provinces of Iraq as part of Operation NEW DAWN.  Taking over in March 2011 the brigade conducted stability operations and secured MSR Tampa for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Kuwait.  At dawn on 18 December 2011, after having turned over the very last of 505 U.S. bases the night prior, the final American forces out of Iraq were Greywolf Troopers.  As the final Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) crossed the Kuwaiti border, the brigade’s mission in southern-Iraq and the U.S. presence in Iraq was over.

In all, the 3rd Brigade has been awarded thirteen decorations and thirty-three campaign streamers during its illustrious history.  Today the “GREYWOLF” Brigade is disciplined, vigilant, and professional; ready to fight anytime, anywhere.

Headquarters, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Lineage and Honors

As of 8 March 2008

Lineage

Constituted 29 August 1917 in the Regular Army as Headquarters, 3d Cavalry Brigade
Organized in December 1917 at Camp Harry J. Jones, Arizona, as an element of the 15th Cavalry Division
Relieved 12 May 1918 from assignment to the 15th Cavalry Division
Demobilized 15 July 1919 at Camp Harry J. Jones, Arizona
Reconstituted 20 August 1921 in the Regular Army as Headquarters, 3d Cavalry Brigade, and assigned to the 2d Cavalry Division
Activated 15 October 1940 at Fort Riley, Kansas
Relieved 15 July 1942 from assignment to the 2d Cavalry Division; concurrently converted and redesignated as Headquarters, 9th Armored Division Trains
Inactivated 13 October 1945 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia
Relieved 15 July 1963 from assignment to the 9th Armored Division; concurrently converted and redesignated as Headquarters, 3d Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
Activated 1 September 1963 in Korea
Inactivated 15 September 1980 at Fort Hood, Texas
Activated 21 May 1991 at Fort Hood, Texas
Reorganized and redesignated 17 October 2005 as Headquarters, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Reorganized and redesignated 16 October 2013 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

Honors