The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team began its existence as the 173rd Infantry Brigade when it was organized on 5 August 1917, assigned to the 87th Division, and activated three weeks later at Camp Pike, Arkansas. Though deployed to Europe, it saw no combat during World War I and was demobilized in 1919. When it finally went into combat more than two decades later, it would be under an new designation—the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop—but with an old friend (the 87th division, now the 87th Infantry Division). While serving as a subordinate unit in the 87th, took part in three campaigns in the European Theater of Operations: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.
It wasn’t until 1963 that the unit (minus the 3rd platoon) received its Airborne designation and was established as a separate brigade from the 87th Infantry Division. It participated in 14 of the 17 official campaigns during the Vietnam War, and was inactivated upon its return to stateside in 1972. Nearly thirty years would elapse before the Brigade was activated on 16 October 2000, and six years later it became the Army’s first separate Airborne Brigade Combat Team—a self-sustaining unit with the mobility and reach necessary to respond rapidly to hotspots around the globe. In 2013, its designation was reverted to 173rd Airborne Brigade.
As is the case with many Army units, the 173rd Airborne Brigade CSIB (Combat Service ID Badge) is a replica of its
colored unit patch, or
Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (SSI). It was originally approved on 13 May 1963; it was amended to include the Airborne tab reflect the unit’s correct designation as an Airborne Brigade in April 2000 and again in 2006 when it became an Airborne Brigade Combat Team. It is unclear if the official description or designation has been changed to reflect the unit's 2013 redesignation as an Airborne Brigade.
The unit's beret flash and oval, or Airborne background trimming, were both originally approved for the 173rd Airborne Brigade on 13 April 2000. They were redesignated for the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team on 12 January 2007.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade unit crest, officially called a Distinctive Unit Insignia, was approved in 1967. It pays homage to the unit’s outstanding performance during Operation Junction City, the only parachute jump of the Vietnam War and a decided tactical victory for American forces.
Related Items
173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team Patch (SSI)173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team Unit Crest (DUI)173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team Beret Flash and Oval