It would later be converted to a reconnaissance unit that was deployed during World War II and saw several months of combat in the European Theatre.

Following a series of budget cuts and force structure reductions, the unit formally inactivated on 31 May 2013 in Grafenwöhr, Germany.

[15] The brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Lincoln Clark Andrews, was assigned to the 86th Division and deployed to Europe for duty during World War I.

[13][16] For the majority of the US involvement in World War II it remained stateside, participating in the Third Army #5 Louisiana Maneuvers in 1943, among other exercises, until finally staging at Camp Myles Standish, at Boston, Massachusetts on 5 February 1945 and shipping out from Boston on 19 February 1945.

During its few months of combat duty in Europe, the troop participated in amphibious assaults across was Danube, Bigge, Altmuhl, Isar, Inn, Mittel-Isar and Salzach rivers in Germany and Austria.

[13] The unit shipped out from San Francisco on 21 August 1945 and arrived in the Philippines on 7 September 1945, five days after the Japanese surrender.

When Army combat forces were reorganized from the Pentomic division battle groups to brigades with subordinate battalions, the group became the 4th Battalion, 23d Infantry and its Airborne component was Company C. The unit was used to determine how best to use Airborne soldiers in Arctic conditions throughout the vast area of Alaska.

There was an administrative split between the "LIB" (Light Infantry Brigade) and the "Brigade Alaska", with the 1-43d Air Defense, 222d Aviation, 56th MP Company, 23d Construction Engineer Company, Northern Warfare Training Center- then at Fort Greely,' being assigned.

The brigade was again inactivated on 15 April 1986 at Fort Richardson, Alaska,[17] being reflagged as part of the newly reformed 6th Infantry Division.

All separate brigades had been deactivated in the 1990s as part of the US Army's drawdown following the end of the Cold War.

Historically, light infantry often fought as skirmishers, reconnaissance, hidden shock and awe attacks, basically guerilla warfare—soldiers who fight in a loose formation ahead of the main army to harass, delay and generally "soften up" an enemy before the main battle.

[23] It was Shinseki's idea to reactivate a few separate light infantry brigades and assign them their own support and sustainment units, which would allow them to function independently of division-level headquarters.

[29] The project entailed around $1.2 billion in construction costs for training facilities, motor pools, and other buildings.

To prepare, it participated in several large exercises at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

[32] In August 2005, the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

4-14 CAV and a Stryker infantry company (A/4-23 IN and later, B/2-1 IN) were attached to 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, and stationed at COP Rawah; away from the rest of the BDE.

[27] The infamous extension of the deployment had happened after some of the units of the Brigade were already touched down at their home base of Fort Wainwright, AK, forcing them to fly back to staging areas in Iraq.

[14] The extension occurred after the unit's regular 12-month tour was complete, making the deployment last for a total of 16 months.

After its activation, the brigade began moving its components from Schweinfurt to Grafenwöhr, Germany, as part of the Grow the Army plan.

[49] In late October 2008 the brigade began moving equipment and vehicles by train from Germany in preparation for their tour in Iraq.

385 containers full of gear, as well as 75 M1A1 Abrams Tanks, M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and HMMWVs were sent by train on 28 October.

Soldiers would spend some of their time during the deployment patrolling on foot, as their normal heavy-tracked vehicles are incompatible with rugged terrain of Afghanistan.

Following a number of budget cuts and force structure reductions, the brigade deactivated in Germany on 31 May 2013.