| 4th Heavy Brigade Combat Team logo | |
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| Nickname | Long Knife |
The 4th Brigade Combat Team ("Long Knife Brigade"[1]) is a combined arms Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division. Its major equipment includes M1A2SEP Tanks, M2A2 & M3A2 ODS Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, M109A6 Paladin Howitzers, and M1151 Up-armored Humvees.
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The 4th Brigade is a subordinate component of the 1st Cavalry Division and wears the same shoulder sleeve insignia.
The 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division was first constituted on 18 October 2005 at Fort Bliss Texas. At a ceremony on Noel Field, MG Peter W. Chiarelli presented the colors to COL Stephen Twitty, the first commander of the brigade.
The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division was activated in a ceremony held 18 October 2005 at Noel Field at Fort Bliss, Texas. The 4th BCT was one of several new units activated throughout the Army as part of the total Army transformation process. During the ceremony, the unit colors were passed to Col. Stephen Twitty, who assumed command of the 4th BCT, also known as the "Long Knife" Brigade. The Brigade was built by the reassignment of 2-12 Cavalry from 2nd Brigade, 2-7 Cavalry and 1-9 Cavalry from 3rd Brigade, and the transfer of the 27th Main Support Battalion from the inactivating DISCOM. 5-82 Field Artillery and the 4th Brigade Support battalion were newly activated units.
On the one year anniversary of the 4th BCT activation, the unit conducted a color casing ceremony to prepare for its deployment to Iraq. The brigade combat team minus 2–12 Cavalry arrived in Ninawa Province in October and November 2006. 2–12 Cavalry deployed to Baghdad to augment the 1st Cavalry Division efforts in the capital city of Iraq. The 4th BCT assumed responsibility of Ninawa province from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division on 9 December 2006. The brigade headquarters was based in Mosul, Ninawa's provincial capital. The brigade's mission was to build capable Iraqi security forces and to conduct counter insurgency operations to neutralize anti-Iraqi forces. The brigade transferred authority to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in December 2007 and completed redeployment operations following their 14-month deployment.
In March 2008, the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Cobras) from the 4th Infantry Division became the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Cooper Field on Fort Hood, Texas. The former Long Knife Brigade reflagged to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, "Highlanders."
Under the 4 BCT's second commander, Colonel Philip Battaglia, the brigade deployed in June 2008 to southern Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 08-10. As part of the Multi-National Division-Center, the 4th BCT trained and mentored the 10th Iraqi Army Division, 3 Provincial Police Forces and Iraq Border Patrol units along the Iran-Iraq border in the provinces of Muthanna, Dhi Qar and Maysan. The brigade's operational environment was roughly the size of South Carolina, had 2.8 million citizens and included Iraq's fourth-largest city, An Nasiriyah. While the 4 BCT was located at Contingency Operating Base Adder in Dhi Qar province, the unit deployed 3 battalions to the Maysan province where it built 2 bases and several ports of entry along the Iraq-Iran border. 2–7 Cavalry occupied FOB Garryowen and operated in northern Maysan province while 1–9 Cavalry and 5–82 Field Artillery "Black Dragons" occupied FOB Hunter in southern Maysan province. The brigade's other 3 battalions were based at COB Adder. The 2–12 Cavalry "Thunderhorse" partnered with Iraqi units in Muthanna and Dhi Qar provinces. The 27th BSB "Rough Riders" provided support across the brigade's operational environment. The brigade's 4th Special Troops Battalion "Spartans" provided enablers and performed garrison and base defense operations at COB Adder. During its one-year deployment, the 4 BCT served as higher headquarters for 3 Romanian battalions: the 151st Infantry Battalion "Black Wolves," the 341st Infantry Battalion "White Sharks," and the 26th Infantry Battalion "Red Scorpions." These Romanian units were an integral part of the BCT's success through their partnership with the 10th Iraqi Army Division Special Forces and combat patrols in Dhi Qar province. In addition to the Iraqi Security Forces, the 4 BCT also partnered with the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) in each of its three provinces to improve the Iraqi people's quality of life in southern Iraq. The unit provided logistics, movement and security support to the PRTs to allow them to improve the governance and economic conditions in the 3 provinces. The 4 BCT worked with the Iraqi Security Forces to seize over 10,000 dangerous munitions and apprehend dozens of criminals in the Maysan marshes to improve the security situation in southern Iraq. 2–7 Cavalry worked with the Iraqi Police in Majar al Kabir to capture the criminals responsible for murdering 6 British Military Police in November 2004. The brigade also worked with the Iraqi Security Forces to provide successful security to Iraq's provincial elections in January 2009. During the 4 BCT's tour, the 10th Iraqi Army Division conducted Operation "Lion's Roar," a combined live-fire exercise in Maysan province in April 2009 – the first of its kind in the Iraqi Army. The exercise integrated U.S. enablers and demonstrated the capability and lethality of the Iraqi Army. During the final month of the brigade's rotation in May 2009, it transitioned the security responsibility of the historic Ziggurat at Ur to the Iraqi Security Forces. Previously, the Ziggurat was inside the perimeter of COB Adder in Dhi Qar province. The structure is one of the world's oldest historical archeological sites and a treasure of the Iraqi people. On May 4, 2009, a part of the 4th BCT, 1st CAV composed of 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery returned home from Iraq. On May 10, a second group of 300 soldiers of the 4th BCT came home after a 15 months tour in Iraq.