The 116th Cavalry Brigade originated in 1920 as the 1st Cavalry, and was part of the Idaho National Guard. The unit was first organized in Boise, and would remain there until the second World War, with the exception of a brief sojourn to the city of Weiser. It was organized in the valley of the Snake River, which is the inspiration for the snake seen on its Combat Service Identification Badge (CSIB), unit patch (SSI), and unit crest (DUI).
A year after its inception, the unit was redesignated as the 116th Cavalry. In 1940 the unit transformed into a Field Artillery unit, the 183rd Field Artillery and inducted into federal service. This was also the year the US entered into WWII, and consequently, the reformed unit was sent to Europe as a part of the war effort.
During WWII the unit fought in five campaigns; the landing at Normandy, through Northern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alasce (more commonly referred to as the Battle of the Bulge), and throughout Central Europe. During the war, in 1943, it was reorganized as the 951st Field Artillery Battalion. As the 951st Field Artillery Battalion, it earned the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for its actions near the Meuse River. The Battalion was deactivated at the end of the war in 1945 at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts.
The unit’s elements were reorganized and reactivated at its home of Boise as the 116th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron and the 183rd Infantry. Both of them were reorganized in 1949 as the 116th Armored Cavalry. The unit took on its current designation of the 116th Cavalry Brigade in 1989. The Brigade is currently located throughout the American Northwest, in states such as Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Utah, though its HQ is still stationed in Boise, where it was first created.
Related Items
116th Cavalry Brigade Patch (SSI)
116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team Unit Crest (DUI)