The 172nd Infantry Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia—now officially called a Shoulder Sleeve Insignia–Military Operations in Hostile Conditions insignia and unofficially referred to as simply a “patch,” “unit patch,” or “shoulder patch”— was approved on 28 August 1963.
Blue and white, current and former branch colors for Infantry, are used for the bayonet and background to allude the unit’s branch and symbolize attack. The Big Dipper and the North star, rendered in gold, are an allusion to the unit’s location in Alaska, while the mountains denote the terrain where the units maneuver to seize and hold ground.
For its service in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, the 172nd Infantry Brigade was awarded the Valorous Unit Award (VUA), one of the highest honors that can be issued to units in the United States Army. While the Army has awarded over 300 VUAs since the start of the Global War on Terrorism, very few Brigades are tapped for the award, with the vast bulk of them going to Battalions and Companies.
The 172nd Infantry Brigade was originally slated for a year-long deployment beginning in August 2005, but when the end date of 27 July 2006 grew near, the Army made a surprising announcement: growing violence in Baghdad required the immediate presence of veteran troops, and the 172nd was ordered to extend their deployment until November. While the troops were ready to carry out the mission, the timing was horrible from a PR perspective because some of the Brigade’s soldiers had already landed back at their home base of Fort Wainwright, Alaska when they learned they were returning to action. During the 16-month deployment, the Brigade suffered 26 Soldiers killed in action, with another 350 being wounded.
Related Items172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB) 172nd Infantry Brigade Unit Crest (DUI)