Army's Big Red One prepares to go home

Soldiers of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division participate in a departure ceremony in Wurzburg, Germany, on Thursday. (MICHAEL PROBST / AP)

WURZBURG, Germany — The U.S. Army's tradition-laden 1st Infantry Division, the oldest in continuous service, packed up its flag Thursday at its headquarters in southern Germany before a return to the United States after a 10-year stay.

Much of the equipment attached to the 15,000-member division — nicknamed the Big Red One — has been shipped to its new base at Fort Riley, Kan., where the colors will be unfurled Aug. 1.

"While somewhat bittersweet, this ceremony marks the latest chapter in the history of the Big Red One," said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of the Army's V Corps.

The division's troops spent a year in Iraq, based in Tikrit, from February 2004 to February 2005.

Most of the division's soldiers have already been assigned to other stations around the world, while those who remain are to move to Kansas or elsewhere within the next two weeks.

Both the 1st Infantry and the 1st Armored Division, based in Wiesbaden, are leaving Germany as part of a repositioning of U.S. forces that foresees smaller, simpler bases in Eastern Europe instead of the large bases in Germany. Under the new concept, soldiers will rotate in for shorter stays from the United States without their families.

Formed in 1917, the 1st Infantry took part in heavy fighting in World War I. It participated in the D-Day landings in Normandy during World War II, served in Vietnam from 1965-1970 and played a major role in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq.

The 1st Infantry also carried out peacekeeping duties in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo in the 1990s.