3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division
"Bronco"
The Bronco Brigade was organized at Schofield Barracks on August 12, 1963, along with the "Lancer" and "Warrior" Brigades. The new brigade organizations replaced the old battle groups of the Pentomic Divisions, which had five infantry battle groups, each group having five companies. At the time of its activation, the Bronco Brigade consisted of the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry and the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry. The brigade's motto became "None Better."
The Broncos remained at Schofield Barracks for the next two years. Then, on Dec 10, 1965, the 25th Infantry Division received the order to deploy to Vietnam.
On Dec 24, while the main force of the division prepared to move out by sea, Air Force Military Airlift Command planes began transporting the 3rd Brigade's men and 2,000 tons of equipment to the northern province of Pleiku located in the Central Highlands of Vietnam in operation "Blue Light." Blue Light was, at that time, the largest movement of soldiers and equipment by military aircraft in history.
Commanded then by COL Everette A. Stoutner, the 3rd Brigade established a foothold in the rugged terrain around Pleiku and created a blocking force against Vietcong personnel and supplies infiltrating South along the Ho Chi Minh trail and the Cambodian border. Their primary mission was to destroy any possible crossing sites along the frontier and disrupt any attempts by the North Vietnamese Army to conduct major combat efforts in the Central Highlands.
The rest of the division arrived in Vietnam in early 1966 and was sent further south to deal with the communist forces around Cu Chi. The Broncos remained an independent brigade, under the control of the Second Field Force until August, 1967, when it was reestablished in Cu Chi. The Broncos remained with the 25th until the division began its deployment back to Schofield in 1970. Then, as part of the division's post-war restructuring, the 3rd Brigade was deactivated.
The 3rd "Bronco" Brigade was reactivated at Schofield Barracks November 15, 1985, as part of the 25th Infantry Division's reorganization to a light infantry division.
In 1995, the Broncos Combat Team was deployed to the island of Haiti in support of Operation Uphold Democracy. Since returning from Haiti, the Brigade has conducted two Lighting Thrust II exercises on Oahu and completed two extremely successful deployments to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Ft. Polk, LA. In 1996, 2-27 Infantry deployed to the Sinai for a rotation of MFO duty, and 2-35 Infantry deployed to Australia. The Brigade's success in these exercises is a result of the dedicated leadership and disciplined training that our soldiers endure. In the upcoming years the Third Brigade will be deploying all around the world taking part in such exercises as: Tandem Thrust, Orient Shield, PACBOUND, and Cobra Gold.
More than 4,000 Soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division (Light) and U.S. Army, Hawaii conducted the Lightning Thrust Warrior training exercise in February 2001 on Schofield Barracks and other northern Oahu training areas. Units, including the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and the division's aviation, field artillery, engineer, air defense artillery, military police and chemical units, participated in the field training exercise. Staff elements from the division's headquarters deployed to provide command and control. Some members of the 3rd Bde. supported the exercise as opposing forces. Soldiers conducted combat-skills training at various sites, including Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfield, Dillingham Military Reservation, Kahuku, and Puu Kapu training areas. The exercise gave commanders and soldiers the chance to practice war-fighting tasks and refine their combat edge. Lightning Thrust Warrior challenges the division staff and commanders to make battlefield decisions and tactically move units while facing an OPFOR. Fighting against a fictitious enemy on the island of "Aragon," Soldiers performed missions to include attacking outposts, defending terrain, fending off aerial attacks, targeting enemy strongholds, maintaining communications and conducting combat service support operations. While training in combat tasks, Soldiers did not conduct live-fire training during the exercise.
