Elements of the brigade can trace back their lineage to October 1881 when the San Diego City Guard was established, which later became the 251st Coast Artillery Regiment.

[8] In January 2013, the brigade headquarters was activated for deployment to the Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces in Afghanistan where they trained Afghan police and other forces.

[3] In April 2013, approximately 75 Soldiers traveled to Camp Shelby, Mississippi to receive training for their Afghanistan mission.

[10] The Army restructured and moved from the division to the brigade as the primary building block of combat power.

The brigade combat team is designed to conduct offensive, defensive, and stability operations.