27th Brigade Support Battalion
"Rough Rider"
27th Main Support Battalion
As part of the Army's transformation towards a modular force, the 27th Main Support Battalion was inactivated from the DISCOM at Fort Hood on July 6th, 2005. The unit was later reactivated as the 27th Brigade Support Battalion of the 4th Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Bliss on October 18, 2005.
The 27th Brigade Support Battalion receives its lineage from the 27th Maintenance Battalion. It was constituted on 1 September 1921 in the regular Army as the 27th Ordnance Company and as an element of the newly formed 1st Cavalry Division. Activated 20 days later at Fort Bliss, Texas, the 27th Ordnance Company's mission was to provide farrier and blacksmith support for the horses and equipment of the division.
On 2 March 1943, the 27th Ordnance Company was reorganized and redesignated the 27th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company. Thereafter, the unit proceeded to the Southwest Pacific Theater with the 1st Cavalry Division where it established a reputation for professionalism in its duty performance. On 25 March 1949, the company was again reorganized and redesignated as the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 27th Ordnance Battalion, with the remainder of the battalion reorganized concurrently.
During the Korean War, the battalion deployed to Korea with the Presidential Unit Citation Streamer and the Chryssoun Aristion Andrias (Bravery gold Medal of Greece).
On 1 September 1963, the battalion was redesignated as the 27th Maintenance Battalion. It was reorganized with the division in 1965 as part of the first airmobile division. Shortly thereafter, it was deployed to Vietnam and served six years with the division in the Vietnam Conflict. There it earned the Vietnamese Valorous Unit Award, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the Vietnamese Civil Action Honor Medal, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation and Streamer, among many others.
The 27th Maintenance Battalion had maintained its dedicated and professional support to the First Team willingly for almost 64 years before being deactivated and reorganized into the 4th Main Support Battalion on 20 June 1985. Elements of the 15th Medical Battalion and the 15th Supply and Transport Battalion were concurrently reorganized into this new battalion. Although shortly lived, the 4th Main Support Battalion quickly established itself as a dedicated and successful support unit in its superior support of the 1st Cavalry Division at numerous field exercises and several National Training Center Rotations at Fort Irwin, California. On 1 May 1987, the battalion was reinstated as the 27th Main Support Battalion, assuming its colors and carrying on its proud tradition of the past.
