The unit is the largest Army National Guard command in Arkansas and is headquartered at the Camp Robinson Maneuver Training Center.

[8] Company B, 3d Battalion, 153d Infantry Regiment was the first National Guard unit since the Vietnam War to be involuntarily mobilized by presidential order (President Bill Clinton).

[citation needed] In March 2001, Company D, 1st Battalion, 153d Infantry Regiment and Company D, 3d Battalion, 153d Infantry Regiment deployed to Bosnia as part of the Multinational Stabilization Force (SFOR), Security Force Nine in order to assist with the enforcement of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH).

They performed presence patrols outside Forward Operating Base Morgan and Camp McGovern, and participated in the consolidation of weapon storage sites.

[9] Second Battalion was sent to Egypt in order to take over the Multinational Force and Observers mission, freeing up regular army infantry units to deploy to Afghanistan.

The 2d Battalion, 153d Infantry Regiment mission during the MFO was: "...to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace and employ best efforts to prevent any violation of its terms."

This mission was accomplished by carrying out four tasks: operating checkpoints, observation posts and conducting reconnaissance patrols on the international border as well as within Zone C; verification of the terms of the peace treaty not less than twice a month; verification of the terms of the peace treaty within 48 hours, upon the request of either party, and ensuring freedom of international marine navigation in the Strait of Tiran and access to the Gulf of Aqaba.

[citation needed] The 39th Infantry Brigade was notified in 2002 that it would be participating in a rotation to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

Less than a month after the completion of this major training milestone, the brigade received its alert for deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on 28 July 2003.

[citation needed] On 12 October 2003, the brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Ronald Chastain,[10] was ordered to federal service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for a period of up to 18 months.

On 17 February 2004, President George W. Bush visited the brigade and had an MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) lunch in a field mess tent with soldiers.

The 2d Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment controlled a massive area of operations that stretched from just north of the Baghdad City Gate, north along Iraqi Highway 1, (Main Supply Route Tampa]]) to the city of Mushada, bounded on the east by the Tigris River, and stretching west to the boundary with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Fallujah.

[14] In April 2004 the 39th came under rocket attack at Camp Cooke in Taji, resulting in four Arkansas soldiers killed in action, all members of the 39th Support Battalion, headquartered in Hazen.

[citation needed] Members of Company C, 1st Battalion, 153d Infantry Regiment spent weeks fighting as part of Task Force 1–9 CAV, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division on the hotly contested area of Haifa Street in Baghdad.

Vanlandingham received the Silver Star medal for his actions to save several wounded Iraqi Army soldiers who had become separated from the patrol during the ambush.

[20] The 1st Battalion, 153d Infantry Regiment conducted over 8,200 combat patrols, captured six division targets and contained or disrupted 15 vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attacks in their sector.

[21] The members of the 239th Engineer Company stationed in Camp Cooke and their families back in Arkansas were the subject of a TV documentary series that aired on the Discovery Times channel called Off To War.

[23] Under tactical control of the Louisiana National Guard, 39th soldiers were given the mission of providing security and food and water to an estimated 20,000 people at the New Orleans Convention Center on 2 September.

The mission of the 39th in Louisiana grew to the point that at one time the brigade combat team was responsible for working with local officials in fourteen parishes.

In June 2006 the brigade combat team began deploying troops along the Southwest Border with Mexico as part of Operation Jump Start.

The brigade combat team was placed in federal service in January 2008 and trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi until it deployed to Iraq beginning in March 2008.

In addition to internal base security, the brigade combat team managed terrain outside the perimeter in order to better provide defense in depth, as well as improve quality of life for Iraqi population centers adjacent to VBC.

The brigade combat team, in partnership with its subordinate units, coordinated nearly ten million dollars in projects that benefited local Iraqi communities.

[28] The brigade combat team was also charged with providing command and control for the Counter-RAM, Joint Intercept Battery, a system used to destroy incoming artillery, rockets and mortar rounds in the air before they hit their ground targets.

Soldiers assigned to Task Force 1st Battalion, 153d Infantry Regiment executed 996 combat patrols in the area of operations surrounding Camp Slayer and captured six high-value targets.

Task Force 1st Squadron, 151st Cavalry Regiment conducted over 700 tactical convoy security missions, without losing a single soldier due to enemy activity.

Task Force 1st Squadron, 151st Cavalry Regiment suffered one non-combat related casualty when a soldier died while working on a vehicle in the motor pool.

Batteries A and B and Company G, 39th Brigade Support Battalion were tasked to escort convoys of concrete barriers to Baghdad during the Siege of Sadr City.

Sergeant Jose Ulloa, of 515th Transportation Company was killed on 8 August 2008 went the MRAP that he was riding in was struck by an improvised explosive device during a convoy security mission in Sadr City, Baghdad.

The Bowie knife that adorns the shoulder sleeve insignia is worn by certain field grade officers and command sergeants major in the brigade combat team.