At the time it was activated as the 1st Sustainment Brigade in 2007, the 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade had already been conducting its critical mission of supply distribution and force support for 90 years. Its origin can be traced to the formation in 1917 of Division Trains that were created to support the storied 1st Infantry Division during World War I—a unit with which the 1st Sustainment is inextricably linked, sharing all lineages and honors earned prior to 2006. Three years after the signing of the Armistice, the Division Trains became Special Troops, 1st Infantry Division, under the control of 1st Infantry Division Support Command.
During World War II, units under Division Support Command (DISCOM) were deployed to the European Theater of Operation in support of the 1st Infantry Division. They participated in all eight campaigns credited to the Big Red One: Algeria French Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes Alsace, and Central Europe. Similarly, DISCOM units were deployed along with the 1st Infantry in South Vietnam and took part in its eleven campaigns. In 2003, DISCOM was deployed to in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom—the first of three tours in Iraq.
After just eight years as a separate brigade, the 1st Sustainment Brigade was redesignated in 2015 as the 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade, an organic component of 1st Infantry Division.
In its Combat Service ID Badge, buff and red are employed because they are colors that have traditionally been used to designate Sustainment units. The 1st Sustainment’s support role is signified by an inverted chevron, which resembles the letter “V”—a nod to the unit motto “Sustain to Victory.” Military preparedness is represented by the red sword, which also resembles the number 1, acknowledging the Brigade’s ties to the 1st Infantry Division. The Brigade’s unit crest (Distinctive Unit Insignia), which was approved on 14 November 2006, uses several of these elements for its design.
Related Items
1st Sustainment Brigade Patch (SSI)
1st Sustainment Brigade Unit Crest (DUI)