I think what has left several ex-troopers with concern is that for the most part, the reduction of the Combat Brigade from three down to two Battalion. Granted we have reduced the Heavy Brigades by one overall when you take the one Brigade of the 2nd Infantry that was converted. Yet the overall effected even if you take these troops and the Mechanized Battalion from the 2-2nd Infantry and use the Mechanized and Armor Battalions/Companies and discarded Artillery Batteries that have been meshed together into 1st Armor, 1st Mech, 1st Cavalry, 3rd Mech, and the 4th Mech to 4 Brigades. Some of these have one Heavy Task Force (either labeled Mech or Armor) and the other battalion is something of mix light/medium task force. With the wording the way the military had worded how the Cavalry Squadrons for these Brigades were stood up, would lead you believe that they extra troop of the 3rd Battalion of these Brigades were just simply re-tasked as Cavalry Squadron end of story. In many cases these Brigades used the former Engineer Brigade HQs or Field Artillery Brigade HQ to start the new Brigade while stripping Paul to cloth Mary...
Now lets look at the Airborne/Air Assault/Light Divisions before. They included the 10th Mountain of 2 Brigades at Fort Drum and 172nd in Alaska. The 25th Light of 2 or 3 Brigades depending on who you talk too. Then their was the 82nd and 101st of 3 Brigades. So with these troops there were 10 or 11 Light Brigades with 3 Infantry Battalions each. Then we had the 173rd Airborne Brigade which was being activated out of the Airborne Task Force in Italy. Itself was still incomplete Brigade but still sent to Northern Iraq to help keep Turkey out of the action. In these new brigade the former Artillery Brigade HQ were re-tasked and again stripping other units to make other units. One unique thing to point out here the of the two Brigade raised for the 10th Mountain Division, they were basically formed from 2nd ACR and the Artillery Brigade HQ after the 2nd ACR based in Fort Polk was deactivated and reactivated at Fort Lewis in one of the Stryker Brigades there that was getting ready to deploy overseas. Thus is where many of the former 2nd Cavalry members who spread through-out the army in attempt to help prop up new 33 Cavalry Squadrons.
So we had up to 11 and 2/3 Infantry Brigades before 2003. After wards total of 5 Brigades were raised, in order to raise these new brigade the 173rd was converted to new Brigade outlook with some reorganization of the Brigade with some addition to bring it up to speed. Of the other Brigades, the 8 that made up the Brigade of the 10th Mountain based at Fort Drum and the 82nd and 101st Division Brigades suffer the same fate that the Mechanized and Armor Brigades had in Heavy Divisions. On paper one would assumed the 3rd Infantry was simply re-tasked as Cavalry Squadron and their Artillery Battalions were reduced a battery. This leave us 13 of the 14 Light Brigades, one more was organized while they blending units for the Stryker units...
While 2 new Light Infantry Brigades, 1 Air Assault, and 1 Airborne Brigades under the new organization were raised to bring the 10th, 82nd, and 101st up to 4 Brigades. Amazing since many Light Division still have their Division Cavalry Squadron intact. While the Armor/Mechanized/Cavalry Division lost them.
The 25th Infantry wasn't mention for a reason nor was the 172nd Infantry Brigade. While we are here we talk about 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division and the 2nd Armor Cavalry Regiment (or whatever it was going by in 2003). The 3-2nd Infantry had been sent to Fort Lewis to convert from Mechanized Brigade to Stryker Brigade. After it arrived it Armor Battalion was re-flagged as Infantry Battalion. This new brigade had 3 Stryker Battalions, 1 Cavalry Squadron, 1 Artillery Battalion, and 1 Support Battalion. The main difference since the reorganization with troop was it got Special Troop Battalion. Shortly before the 2003 it was decided that the 172nd, two Brigades of the 25th Light, and even the 2nd ACR would all be converted to this organization. So we took 3 Light Infantry Brigades, 1 Mechanized Brigade, 1 ACR, and 1 Air Assault/Mechanized Brigade and turn them into 7 Stryker Brigades. 3 for the 2nd Infantry, 3 for the 25th Infantry (dropping Light), and 1 Cavalry Regiment. Also somewhere in this mass confusion another Airborne Brigade was raised. The 3 Stryker Brigades of the 2nd based in Fort Lewis. Then 1 Stryker and 1 Airborne in Alaska and 2 Stryker in Hawaii for the 25th. While the 2nd Cavalry Regiment was destined for Germany.
IIRC they went so far to debating if the 6th Stryker Brigade would be new Brigade or to outfit a National Guard Brigade, namely one of the 28th Infantry Division PA-NG. After some time to think about the 2-2nd Infantry was transferred back to the US instead of to Korea after a tour to Iraq. It was to be temporary re-flag as a Brigade of the 4th Division before it was sent to Fort Lewis and re-flagged as part of the 2nd Division.
So before 2003 we had 12 Light Brigades, 1 Medium Brigade (Cavalry Regiment), 1 ACR, and 12 Mechanized/Armor Brigades. Now we have 1 ACR, 21 Heavy Brigades (5 Division with 4 Brigades and the 1-2nd Infantry), 14 Light Brigades, and 7 Stryker Brigades. All in 10 Divisions, 2 independent Brigades, and 1 ACR. Or that is the way current call for once everyone gets sorted out...
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