The 67th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, nicknamed the “Nebraska Brigade” in homage to its origin as a Nebraska National Guard unit, has undergone quite a few redesignations since its organization in 1921; in fact, it did not receive its current designation until 2016. Its origins as an Infantry unit are reflected in the 67th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, which was approved on 18 June 1964 while the unit was designated the 67th Infantry Brigade. Blue and white are, of course, infantry colors. and in the middle is a byl, a type of pike once carried by Infantry troops.
Despite the numerous changes in designation, however, the bulk of the 67th’s history has been as an Infantry unit. In March 1964, it was reorganized and redesignated as the 67th Infantry Brigade with five maneuver elements (three Airborne and two Armor), replacing the 34th Infantry Division. The following year it was reorganized as Mechanized Infantry. Around the same time, the Army created the Selected Reserve Force in the Army National Guard, consisting of three infantry divisions and six infantry brigades, one of which was to be mechanized; the 67th was chosen for that role. By 1968, two other National Guard Infantry Brigades—the 72nd of Texas and the 30th of the Carolinas and Georgia—were also mechanized.
With the introduction of Mechanized Infantry Divisions in the National Guard, the Department of Defense organized the 35th Infantry Division and reactivated it as a mechanized unit, with the 67th joining it under a new designation (67th Brigade) along with National Guard units from Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, and Missouri. The Brigade maintained this designation for what must have seemed like an eternity—18 years—before being redesignated a Support Group in advance of being deployed to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
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