By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON - The 4th Infantry Division's 4th Combat Aviation Brigade will deploy to Afghanistan this summer as part of the surge of American troops to the country, Defense Department officials said here today.
The deployment order brings the number of U.S. troops notified for deployment to 25,000. President Barack Obama promised to send 30,000 additional U.S. forces to the nation this year.
The 2,600-man 4th Combat Aviation Brigade is based at Fort Hood, Texas, and makes up the greatest part of this deployment. Another 500 support-forces soldiers also are deploying. Officials did not say where the soldiers ultimately will be based in Afghanistan.
On Dec. 7, Pentagon officials announced the first deployment as part of the Afghan surge. Officials said 16,000 servicemembers would deploy, including a reinforced Marine battalion with about 1,500 Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C. That unit has arrived in Regional Command South in Afghanistan.
Camp Lejeune also will send Regimental Combat Team 2 with 6,200 Marines in early spring 2010. An 800-member Marine headquarters unit from Camp Pendleton, Calif., also will deploy in the spring.
The 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, based in Fort Drum, N.Y., will deploy in the spring to train and mentor Afghan security forces.
On Dec. 22, Pentagon officials announced the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team from Fort Campbell, Ky., will deploy in early spring, along with another 2,600 support personnel.
Pentagon officials said they expect to identify the last of the troops to deploy with the surge soon.
About 70,000 American forces are in Afghanistan today, along with 43,000 allied troops from 42 countries. Ultimately, more than 100,000 U.S. troops and 50,000 coalition troops will be in the country.
Showing posts with label Fort Hood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fort Hood. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Brigades to Begin Joint Air-to-Ground Training
By Sean Deam
Army units from the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas, will be the first to participate in new joint air-to-ground training at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., in November. (Photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Samuel Rogers)
The new air-ground integration concept for brigade combat teams is designed to improve combat effectiveness while reducing fratricide and collateral damage on the battlefield, according to U.S. Joint Forces Command.
The core of this initiative, the BCT A-GI training concept, will bring services, schools, combat training centers and units together in order to train jointly - just as they fight in combat, officials said. The fiirst BCT A-GI training event at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., will take place Nov. 5 - 23 with maneuver units from the 4th Infantry Division.
"The need to better synchronize our air-ground integration training at the brigade combat team level is a fundamental requirement to succeed on the complex battlefield that our men and women operate in today," said Maj. Thomas Hansbarger, BCT A-GI project lead for U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team.
"We must develop a realistic, joint integrated air-to-ground training capability at home station and at the combat training centers for both planning and execution in order to improve application of joint fires and effects at the Brigade Combat Team level and below," said Gen. William S. Wallace, commander of Training and Doctrine Command.
The BCT A-GI team consists primarily of the TRADOC Joint Air Ground Office, Air Combat Command Joint Air Ground Division, the Army Joint Support Team and the Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team.
The BCT A-GI training plan emphasizes individual skills, develops training objectives, integrates robust air-ground training at the BCT's home station and implements collaborative training scenarios at combat training centers and Green Flag exercises.
BCT A-GI integrates joint concepts into existing training events after a BCT returns from a deployment and as it prepares to deploy again, officials said. They said the BCT commander determines when, where and the extent to which joint concepts are incorporated into the unit's training plan.
Another key dynamic of BCT A-GI is the development of joint, interdependent training objectives between the participating BCT, Air Support Operations Squadron and Air Force and Army flying units. Since the objectives will be interdependent, officials said every unit's inputs and actions will be required to make the event successful.
JFIIT will assess each training event during home-station training and CTC rotations. The assessments will focus on the training venues, JFCOM officials said, and the ability to create a realistic, joint training environment, and measure each unit's improvement in air-ground integration.
The Center for Army Lessons Learned will conduct the final BCT A-GI assessment while the BCT conducts combat operations. The BCT A-GI team will write a report determining if the concept was successful at creating a joint training environment and if it increased the unit's ability to conduct joint air-to-ground operations.
(Sean Deam works for the Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team, United States Joint Forces Command Public Affairs Office).
Army units from the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas, will be the first to participate in new joint air-to-ground training at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., in November. (Photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Samuel Rogers)The new air-ground integration concept for brigade combat teams is designed to improve combat effectiveness while reducing fratricide and collateral damage on the battlefield, according to U.S. Joint Forces Command.
The core of this initiative, the BCT A-GI training concept, will bring services, schools, combat training centers and units together in order to train jointly - just as they fight in combat, officials said. The fiirst BCT A-GI training event at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., will take place Nov. 5 - 23 with maneuver units from the 4th Infantry Division.
"The need to better synchronize our air-ground integration training at the brigade combat team level is a fundamental requirement to succeed on the complex battlefield that our men and women operate in today," said Maj. Thomas Hansbarger, BCT A-GI project lead for U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team.
"We must develop a realistic, joint integrated air-to-ground training capability at home station and at the combat training centers for both planning and execution in order to improve application of joint fires and effects at the Brigade Combat Team level and below," said Gen. William S. Wallace, commander of Training and Doctrine Command.
The BCT A-GI team consists primarily of the TRADOC Joint Air Ground Office, Air Combat Command Joint Air Ground Division, the Army Joint Support Team and the Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team.
The BCT A-GI training plan emphasizes individual skills, develops training objectives, integrates robust air-ground training at the BCT's home station and implements collaborative training scenarios at combat training centers and Green Flag exercises.
BCT A-GI integrates joint concepts into existing training events after a BCT returns from a deployment and as it prepares to deploy again, officials said. They said the BCT commander determines when, where and the extent to which joint concepts are incorporated into the unit's training plan.
Another key dynamic of BCT A-GI is the development of joint, interdependent training objectives between the participating BCT, Air Support Operations Squadron and Air Force and Army flying units. Since the objectives will be interdependent, officials said every unit's inputs and actions will be required to make the event successful.
JFIIT will assess each training event during home-station training and CTC rotations. The assessments will focus on the training venues, JFCOM officials said, and the ability to create a realistic, joint training environment, and measure each unit's improvement in air-ground integration.
The Center for Army Lessons Learned will conduct the final BCT A-GI assessment while the BCT conducts combat operations. The BCT A-GI team will write a report determining if the concept was successful at creating a joint training environment and if it increased the unit's ability to conduct joint air-to-ground operations.
(Sean Deam works for the Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team, United States Joint Forces Command Public Affairs Office).
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Fort Hood Unit to Deploy to Iraq
The Army confirmed the Department of Defense announcement Oct. 9 sending Soldiers from the 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, to Iraq as part of a normal rotation of forces. The "Cobras" will deploy in the summer of 2008 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The 4/4 officially activated as one of the Army's first modular brigades as part of an Army-wide restructuring and transformation in December, 2004. The unit deployed in support of OIF in late November 2005 and was based at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Prosperity. Subordinate units at FOBs Falcon, Honor and Union III, operated in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Baghdad.
During that deployment, the Cobra Brigade provided security for many key events, to include the first session of the Iraqi Council of Representatives at the Parliament Center in Baghdad, where 275 representatives were sworn into Iraq's newly elected, four-year government in March 2006.
The brigade combat team also conducted numerous operations - capturing or killing terrorists, finding roadside bombs and IED networks, and developing intelligence used to prevent other attacks. Other operations included important civic projects, helping rid the streets of garbage and showing Iraqi citizens their government is working for a better future.
The 4/4 will be lead by Col. Philip F. Battaglia, and CSM Edwin Rodriguez, both of whom have served in Iraq previously.
The deployment of the Cobra Brigade will provide senior commanders in Iraq the flexibility to maintain the appropriate level of effort based on their assessment of the security situation on the ground.
Prior to its deployment, the brigade will be re-designated as 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
The existing 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, is currently deployed in Iraq. That unit, based in Fort Bliss, Texas, will re-deploy in the coming months. After its return to home station, it will re-designate to become part of 1st Armored Division.
As with recent unit deployments to Iraq, the Cobra Brigade Combat Team could remain in theater up to 15 months.
Army leadership does not take for granted the incredible sacrifices borne by Family Members during this period of frequent deployments to combat. The Army continues to look closely at all aspects of Family support during this period of unprecedented operational tempo, and every consideration for the Soldier's and Family's exceptional dedication to duty is given during the periods of pre-deployment, deployment and, in particular, upon return.
The 4/4 officially activated as one of the Army's first modular brigades as part of an Army-wide restructuring and transformation in December, 2004. The unit deployed in support of OIF in late November 2005 and was based at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Prosperity. Subordinate units at FOBs Falcon, Honor and Union III, operated in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Baghdad.
During that deployment, the Cobra Brigade provided security for many key events, to include the first session of the Iraqi Council of Representatives at the Parliament Center in Baghdad, where 275 representatives were sworn into Iraq's newly elected, four-year government in March 2006.
The brigade combat team also conducted numerous operations - capturing or killing terrorists, finding roadside bombs and IED networks, and developing intelligence used to prevent other attacks. Other operations included important civic projects, helping rid the streets of garbage and showing Iraqi citizens their government is working for a better future.
The 4/4 will be lead by Col. Philip F. Battaglia, and CSM Edwin Rodriguez, both of whom have served in Iraq previously.
The deployment of the Cobra Brigade will provide senior commanders in Iraq the flexibility to maintain the appropriate level of effort based on their assessment of the security situation on the ground.
Prior to its deployment, the brigade will be re-designated as 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
The existing 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, is currently deployed in Iraq. That unit, based in Fort Bliss, Texas, will re-deploy in the coming months. After its return to home station, it will re-designate to become part of 1st Armored Division.
As with recent unit deployments to Iraq, the Cobra Brigade Combat Team could remain in theater up to 15 months.
Army leadership does not take for granted the incredible sacrifices borne by Family Members during this period of frequent deployments to combat. The Army continues to look closely at all aspects of Family support during this period of unprecedented operational tempo, and every consideration for the Soldier's and Family's exceptional dedication to duty is given during the periods of pre-deployment, deployment and, in particular, upon return.
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