The Army announced an upcoming pair of brigade-level rotations Friday morning, officially revealing which units are next in line for Europe and South Korea.
- The 1st Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, will deploy to Europe as part of the long-running Atlantic Resolve deterrence mission.
- The 2nd Infantry Division’s 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, will rotate to South Korea.
Army spokesperson Jason Waggoner indicated that the rotations are roughly slated to begin in October.
The Fort Riley troops heading to Europe will replace Fort Carson’s 3rd ABCT, 4th Infantry Division, amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Although U.S. and NATO forces are not directly involved in the conflict, they’ve been working to equip and train Ukrainian troops.
Their counterparts within the 1st Infantry Division’s 1st ABCT also recently returned from Atlantic Resolve after their rotation, due to end in April, was extended by about three months after the Russian invasion. The move meant that the Army briefly had three armor brigades simultaneously in Europe, raising concerns about the deployment pace among the service’s ABCTs.
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Likely in response to those concerns, the Army announced in late June that tank brigades would no longer rotate to Korea. JBLM’s 2nd SBCT will be the first Stryker brigade to deploy since that announcement, relieving the 1st Armored Division’s 1st ABCT.
The tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles that are already on the peninsula will stay and be maintained as a pre-positioned stock ready for rapid deployments if necessary.
The 2nd SBCT’s commander, Col. Chad Roehrman, argued in a statement that Strykers are a natural choice for Korea’s varied terrain.
“By design, we are equipped to rapidly deploy around the globe to fight and win in key or restrictive terrain [—] hills, mountains, valleys and urban environments alongside our partner nations,” said Roehrman. “Following the decision to change [the rotational force] from armored brigades to Stryker brigades, we are fully prepared to assume the mission from 1st ABCT, 1st Armored Division, in support of the ironclad commitment to the alliance.”
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.
