Welcome to the 81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team

The 81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team is headquartered in Seattle and is comprised of units from all over our state with approximately 2,900 citizen soldiers from Washington State filling its ranks. In March 2008, the Department of Defense issued an order directing the 81st to mobilize and deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 81st was placed on federal active duty on August 18, 2008 and approximately 2,400 soldiers from Washington were joined by an additional 900 soldiers from the California Army National Guard. They trained at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin before deploying to the OIF theater in October.

Missions for 81st units in Iraq typically focus on convoy security, force protection, provincial reconstruction and base operations. Under the current DOD policy, the 81st is scheduled to be on federal active duty for 12 months plus any leave time they accrue. We anxiously await their arrival back home in August 2009.