The 45th Sustainment Brigade uncased its headquarters’ colors today symbolizing its reintegration from its Afghanistan deployment and reuniting all of the unit’s elements under one brigade flag for the first time in more than four years.

During the ceremony, the headquarters reassumed command of two battalions, the 45th Special Troops Battalion and the 524th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, after its seven-month deployment as the CENTCOM Materiel Recovery Element in Afghanistan.

“This is truly a historic day for our unit,” said Col. Gregory Boyd, the 45th’s commander. “These Soldiers have answered our nation’s call to support combat and sustainment operations in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past 12 years. This is the first time our unit has stood together on any field since 2011.”

While deployed, the 45th was the final brigade to headquarter the CMRE mission charged with sorting, tracking and recovering all U.S. military equipment scattered throughout Afghanistan, an operational area roughly the size of the state of Texas. The mission was a first for the sustainment brigade, which has deployed multiple times for support operations to Afghanistan and Iraq, but never as a CMRE unit.

The troops returned to their families in December, and now transition their focus back to serving as the primary sustainment brigade for the Pacific Theater.

“Today’s ceremony is not about me or Command Sgt. Maj. Dana Mason Jr.,” Boyd said. “It’s about the Lightning Support ‘ohana’ and the Soldiers on the field to your front.”

While the brigade’s headquarters element was deployed, the 8th Military Police Brigade provided command and control of the two battalions as they continued their sustainment operations supporting the Pacific.