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The Red Bulls in Two Eras: The Story of the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division
When the soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, they stepped into the largest mobilization the Iowa National Guard had seen since the Second World War. Nearly 3,000 Guardsmen traded their civilian roles for the unforgiving mountains of eastern Afghanistan, carrying with them not only the expectations of their communities at home but the hard-earned legacy of the Red Bull patch on their shoulders.
Their mission demanded more than endurance. Operating across multiple provinces, the brigade partnered with Afghan security forces, secured remote outposts, and worked village by village to build stability in areas long contested by insurgents. One of their defining efforts—Operation Bull Whip—illustrated that blend of combat readiness and community engagement that is typical of the National Guard. It was one of the largest air-assault operations most of these citizen soldiers had ever seen, yet its goals extended far beyond the battlefield. The brigade helped establish local governance meetings, supported Afghan leaders, and built trust with families who had known little peace for decades. Those efforts demanded patience, judgment, and a steady presence—qualities that often receive less recognition than the dramatic images of a helicopter assault, but which make or break a counterinsurgency mission.
The deployment came at a cost. Four soldiers from the brigade did not return home. Their loss weighed heavily on commanders and soldiers alike, a reminder that duty is never abstract. When the brigade later received the Citizen Patriot Award, it was not an exercise in ceremony; it was an acknowledgment of the sacrifices made by Guardsmen who left farms, classrooms, police departments and shop floors to shoulder a mission half a world away. Their neighbors understood the gravity of that service, and the recognition reflected that understanding.
Forging the Red Bull Identity: WWII Roots and Lineage
What many of those Guardsmen already knew, and what others came to appreciate more deeply while deployed, is that their brigade stands in direct continuity with a lineage forged in another rugged theater: the mountains of Italy during World War II. The modern 2/34 IBCT includes battalions—most notably the 168th Infantry—that fought under the 34th Infantry Division’s banner during the campaigns in North Africa and Italy. Those earlier Red Bulls spent 517 days in frontline combat, more than any other U.S. division in the European Theater. They assaulted fortified ridges in Tunisia, seized the critical heights of Hill 609, and paid dearly for every mile gained across the Apennines. At Anzio, they endured some of the most brutal conditions of the war. When they entered Rome in June 1944, it was not a ceremonial march but the culmination of months of harsh fighting, steep losses and relentless pressure.
The soldiers who wear the Red Bull patch today inherit more than an emblem—they inherit that story of toughness under fire. Many of the citizen-soldiers who deployed in 2010 were well aware of that lineage. It wasn’t uncommon to hear a platoon sergeant reference the division’s WWII record, or a young private learn for the first time that his battalion’s colors had once been carried through Italy. That sense of history does not win battles by itself, but it stiffens backs when missions run long, and it instills a quiet pride that reinforces discipline when the work becomes difficult.
Leadership within the brigade has also reflected that bridge between past and present. During the Afghanistan deployment, then-Colonel Benjamin J. Corell commanded the brigade with a focus on bringing his soldiers home—a responsibility he later described as the weightiest of his career. His own path, from commanding the Red Bulls in Afghanistan to eventually leading the Iowa National Guard as Adjutant General, mirrors the seriousness of the brigade’s mission and the tradition it carries. Other commanders who have led the brigade in recent years have continued that emphasis on readiness and stewardship, preparing the unit for modern requirements while remaining mindful of its inherited standards.
Today’s 2/34 IBCT: Leaders and Continuity
The story of the 2/34 IBCT is best understood not as a sequence of reorganizations or designations, but as a long thread stretching from the rocky slopes of Italy to the valleys of eastern Afghanistan. In both eras, Red Bulls have faced complex enemies, unforgiving terrain and the burden of knowing that success or failure had real consequences for the people living in the conflict zones around them. Whether fighting their way toward Rome or sitting with Afghan elders in a newly established council meeting, the soldiers of the 34th Division have been asked to do more than simply fight—they have been asked to shape conditions for something better.
That is the continuity worth honoring. The men and women who serve today stand in the same tradition as those who wore the patch before them: citizen-soldiers who step forward when called, who train hard, who deploy without fanfare, and who return to their communities carrying experiences that most Americans will never fully understand. Their contribution is not confined to a single deployment or a single decade. It is part of a heritage that defines the Red Bull name, and one that continues to be earned with each generation.
