 By 1999, after 40 years of existence, the brigade had yet to be deployed to a foreign theater of operations or participate in any conflicts or contingencies.The brigade saw only a single activation into active duty service, at the start of the Iraq War.It was ordered into active military service on 10 February 2003 at Gaithersburg, Maryland as part of the U.S. Military's mobilization in preparation for Operation Iraqi Freedom.