Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (United States)

The Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 10th Mountain Division is a special troops battalion of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Drum, New York. It is the organization for the command elements of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. The battalion contains the brigade's senior command structure, including its Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), as well as military police, engineering, intelligence, and communications elements.

Organization
The Special Troops Battalion (BSTB) is a subordinate battalion of the 3rd BCT, 10th Mountain Division, and is a permanent formation of the brigade; additionally, the BCT's command elements are contained within the BSTB.

The battalion consists of five companies; both the brigade's and the battalion's HHCs, as well as Alpha Company, a combat engineer company; Bravo Company, a military intelligence company; Charlie Company, a communications company; and a military police (MP) platoon incorporated into the battalion HHC. These companies provide combat support functions for the maneuver battalions of the BCT. As such, all of the formations are mountain warfare qualified.

History
Upon the return of the division headquarters and 1st Brigade from a deployment to Afghanistan, the 10th Mountain Division began the process of transformation into a modular division. On 16 September 2004, the division headquarters finished its transformation. The 1st Brigade became the 1st Brigade Combat Team, while the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division was activated for the first time. In January 2005, the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division was activated at Fort Polk, Louisiana. 2nd Brigade Combat Team would not be transformed until September 2005, pending a deployment to Iraq.

Recent deployments
The division headquarters and 3rd Brigade Combat Team redeployed to Afghanistan in February 2006, staying in the country until June 2007. The division and brigade served in the eastern region of the country, along the border with Pakistan, fulfilling a similar role as it did during its previous deployment. Prior to the end of its twelve-month deployment cycle, the brigade was extended for an additional four months, in the end serving a sixteen-month tour; it was eventually replaced by the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team which was rerouted from Iraq.

After a one-year rest, the headquarters of the 10th Mountain Division was deployed to Iraq for the first time in April 2008, along with the 4th Brigade Combat Team. The division headquarters served as the command element for southern Baghdad, while the 4th BCT operated in North Baghdad. The 10th Mountain participated in larger scale operations such as Operation Phantom Phoenix.

The 3rd Brigade Combat Team was slated to deploy to Iraq in 2009, but that deployment was rerouted. In January 2009, the 3rd BCT instead deployed to Logar and Wardak, Nangargar and Kunar Provinces in eastern Afghanistan to relieve the 101st Airborne Division, as part of a new buildup of US forces in that country. The brigade was responsible for expanding Forward Operating Bases in the region, as well as strengthening US military presence in the region in preparation for additional US forces to arrive.