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Also known in the Army as "America's First Team," the division will be the first advise-and-assist brigade to deploy to Iraq in support of "Operation New Dawn."

President Barack Obama announced the official end of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and the beginning of "Operation New Dawn" Tuesday.

About 4,000 soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team gathered on Cooper Field for a formal ceremony before their departure.

"Now you will lead the way as the first brigade combat team to deploy since the beginning of 'Operation New Dawn,'" First Cavalry Division Commander Maj. Gen Daniel Allyn said. "You're not just living history. You will make it."

For many, including Brigade Commander Col. Brian Winski, this will be their second or third deployment. Col. Winski said he has deployed three previous times. However, he sees this deployment as an opportunity.

"This is the point that we've been working toward from 2003 to present, in terms of Iraqi forces completely in the lead," he said. "This is a chance to finish what we started and finish it right."

It appears as though other soldiers in the brigade feel the same way, as Winski said about 300 soldiers who were scheduled to leave the service voluntarily extended to stay with the brigade through the deployment.

Once they get to Iraq, the brigade will be in charge of training Iraqi forces mostly in Ninawa Province in northern Iraq with a taskforce in Kirkuk.

However, the change in mission also meant these soldiers had to adjust their training in preparation for the deployment.

"We have tailored the training plan to: one, attain proficiency and expertise and gain experience on tasks we'll train the Iraqi's on," Winski said.

Soldiers also went through the same training they received during previous deployments to Iraq. However, Winski expects this mission to be a little safer, compared to conditions troops faced in the early years of the war.

"Far fewer direct fire contacts, [improvised explosive device] attacks and direct fire attacks than we've seen in years past, no question," he said.

Cavalry Division officials said the soldiers will start their deployment in the coming weeks. Once they are in Iraq, they will be among just under 50,000 U.S. troops remaining in the country. This includes about 3,000 soldiers from Fort Hood's 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment who deployed to Iraq in August.