The short history of Special Troops Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 1st Armored Division—also referred to as 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Armored Division—is inextricably intertwined with that of the Brigade’s Headquarters.
On 16 September 2008, the Headquarters Company of 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division was reorganized and redesignated as the Special Troops Battalion for the Brigade, which was transformed into a Brigade Combat Team at the same time as part of the Army’s move toward a brigade-centric force. The new Battalion’s nickname, “Ready First,” was a nod to its affiliation with the 1st Brigade, and its motto of “SIMUL MILITAMUS”—Latin for “We Fight As One”—also featured a play on the numerical designation of its Brigade and Division.
For its support of combat operations conducted by 1st Armored Division serving as United States Division-Center Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn between December 2009 and December 2010, the Special Troops Battalion was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation on 22 December 2010. Less than a month later, the Special Troops Battalion was consolidated with HQ, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, and the consolidated unit was redesignated as HQ and HQ Company of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, officially designated a Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
As part of the implementation of Army 2020 Force Structure Realignment plan, Special Troops Battalions began to be reflagged or eliminated from the Brigade organizational structure as early as January 2010. The 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team has not had an organic Special Troops Battalion since that time.
In 2019, the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team will be converted to an Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT), bringing the total of ABCTs in the Regular Army and Army National Guard to sixteen.