Part of an Army security force assistance brigade and a combat aviation brigade will rotate to Europe soon, the service announced Friday afternoon.
The units deploying to Europe are:
- The 1st Cavalry Division Combat Aviation Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas, more commonly known as the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade.
- Advisor teams from the 4th Security Force Assistance Brigade, headquartered at Fort Carson, Colorado.
The 1st Air Cavalry Brigade will serve as the rotational aviation brigade in support of Atlantic Resolve, a NATO operation intended to deter Russian aggression in the region
“Training to fight and win with our European partners builds confidence across the globe in NATO’s combined lethality,” said Col. Reggie Harper, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade commander, in the release. “Our team is comprised of the finest combat aviators on the planet. We are trained and ready for this rotation.”
The 4th SFAB rotation is one of the first competition-focused deployments for the still relatively new advising units, and the first of its kind to Europe.
“We are excited to have them rotate in for the first time,” Maj. Gen. Joe Jarrard, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, told Defense News. “The first...six months’ rotation is going to focus with the [countries] of Georgia, Latvia, North Macedonia, Poland and Romania.”
“We’re very excited about them being here just to advise, support, liaison, assess military capabilities [and] to help train our partners,” the general added.
Early SFAB rotations focused on training and building up security forces in Afghanistan, where that country’s military faced the Taliban insurgency.
But as the Army shifted its focus to competing against Russia and China, teams of SFAB soldiers have started deploying to Africa and the Indo-Pacific region, as well.
As part of that realignment, each SFAB was paired with a specific combatant command region.
Defense News land warfare reporter Jen Judson contributed to this story.
Davis Winkie covers the Army for Military Times. He studied history at Vanderbilt and UNC-Chapel Hill, and served five years in the Army Guard. His investigations earned the Society of Professional Journalists' 2023 Sunshine Award and consecutive Military Reporters and Editors honors, among others. Davis was also a 2022 Livingston Awards finalist.
