Demobilized in January 1919 at Camp Grant, Illinois.
Camp Grant was abandoned in 1921.
Interwar
Reconstituted 24 June 1921 in the Organized Reserves as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172d Infantry Brigade, and assigned to the 86th Division.
Redesignated 23 March 1925 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172d Brigade.
Redesignated 24 August 1936 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172d Infantry Brigade.
World War II
US 172nd Infantry Brigade Distinctive Unit Insignia
Converted and redesignated 31 March 1942 as the 3d Platoon, 86th Reconnaissance Troop, 86th Division (Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 171st Infantry Brigade, concurrently converted and redesignated as the 86th Reconnaissance Troop (less 3d Platoon), 86th Division).
Troop ordered into active military service 15 December 1942 and reorganized at Camp Howze, at Gainesville, Texas, as the 86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, an element of the 86th Infantry Division.
Reorganized and redesignated 5 August 1943 as the 86th Reconnaissance Troop, Mechanized.
Participated in the Third Army #5 Louisiana Maneuvers from November 21, 1943.
Arrived in France on March 1, 1945, acclimated and trained, and then moved to Koln, Germany, and participated in the relief of the 8th Infantry Division in defensive positions near Weiden on March 28-29, [[1945.
Proceeded as part of VII; XXII, XVIII (AB), III and XV Corps, and the Third Army until the stop point at Salzburg was reached at or about VE Day on May 7, 1945.
Arrived back at the New York Port Of Embarkation on June 17, 1945, and proceeded to Fort Gruber at Braggs, Oklahoma to prepare for combat in the Pacific.
Reorganized and redesignated 10 October 1945 as the 86th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop.
Inactivated 30 December 1946 in the Philippine Islands.
Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps;
Brigade redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve.
The shoulder sleeve insignia was authorized on 28 Aug 1963.
3d Platoon, 86th Reconnaissance Troop, converted and redesignated 20 May 1963 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172d Infantry Brigade, and relieved from assignment to the 86th Infantry Division; concurrently withdrawn from the Army Reserve and allotted to the Regular Army (remainder of troop hereafter separate lineage).
Brigade reassigned to the Regular Army, as a Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD), and was activated on 1 July 1963 at Fort Richardson, Alaska with one Light Infantry Battalion; one Mechanized Infantry Battalion; and one Tank Company.
The shoulder sleeve insignia was authorized on 28 Aug 1963.
The distinctive unit insignia was authorized on 8 Jun 1966.
The Brigade was reorganized from Mechanized Infantry to Light Infantry on June 30, 1969, with a reduction to 2 Mechanized Infantry Battalions..
In June of 1974, the 172nd Infantry Brigade was reorganized to include three Light Infantry Battalions.
In 1978, the Brigade was again reorganized into one Infantry Battalion; one Mechanized Infantry Battalion, and one Tank Battalion.
Inactivated 15 April 1986 at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Global War on Terrorism
Redesignated as the 172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) from the 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Division on April 17, 1998.
Army announces brigade is to undergo transformation into one of the Army's new Interim Brigade Combat Teams (later to be known as Stryker Brigade Combat Team or SBCT) in July 2001.
Brigade deploys to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in August 2005.
Honors
World War I
Streamer without inscription
World War II
Central Europe
Bibliography
Bender, John A. "Dynamic Training Arctic Style: A Report from Alaska." Infantry 62 (November-December 1972):36-37.
Boatner, James G. "Rugged Training on the 'Last Frontier.' Supersoldiers of the North." Army 26 (November 1976):27-30.
Dacus, David M. "The Last Frontier." Infantry 64 (July-August 1974):48-52.
Kiernan, David R. "Winter Training in Alaska." Infantry 70 (November-December 1980):10-12.
Little, John G., Jr. The Official History of the 86th Division. Chicago: States Publications Society, 1921.
Meiners, Theodore J. "They Climb the Crags." Army Digest 22 (April 1967):36-38.
Paternostro, Anthony. "The Alaska Brigade: Arctic Intelligence and Some Strategic Considerations." Military Intelligence 6 (October-December 1980):47-50.
Simone, Michael R. "Where 'Teary Eyes Freeze Shut."' Army 31 (February 1981):32-33.
