FORT BLISS, Texas – A Fort Bliss brigade will send about 4,000 soldiers to the Middle East sometime this spring, the Department of the Army announced Monday.
The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division will be deploying to Kuwait, according to the announcement.
Before deploying overseas, the Bulldog Brigade is scheduled to go to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, for a monthlong training rotation in April. This will serve as the brigade's final tuneup before deploying sometime after that.
Col. Chip Daniels, commander of 3rd Brigade, said the brigade is going to Kuwait to strengthen regional stability and security in coordination with America's partner nations.
Pvt. Christopher D. Buck, an infantryman with Alpha Company, 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, engages enemy targets with his M4 Carbine during Bulldog Focus at McGregor Range, New Mexico, Jan. 21, 2016.
Photo Credit: Spc. Von Marie Donato
The Bulldogs will be replacing 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division from Fort Riley, Kansas, Daniels said.
During the mission, they will be supporting Central Command, which is in charge of Middle Eastern operations, Daniels added.
The brigade recently finished a six-week train-up at the Fort Bliss training area in preparation for NTC.
The brigade spent nine months in 2015 being regionally aligned with Africa Command and took part in a handful of large-scale training exercises on that continent and numerous, smaller training missions with African partner nations.
This new deployment is considered to be a regionally aligned mission, too, but in the Middle East, Daniels said.
The 3rd Brigade has been one of Fort Bliss' busiest units during the past couple of years.
It also went to NTC in September 2014 when it was still known as 4th Brigade, before it reflagged as part of an Army-wide reorganization.
"As far as our training, we have trained and are continuing to train for all contingencies — from major combat ops to security and stability ops," Daniels said in an email. "We are proficient now and NTC will only make us better. It is the only place in the world where an ABCT (armored brigade combat team) can train with the degree of complexity it offers."
Fort Bliss and 1st Armored Division commanding general Maj. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty said 3rd Brigade is "well-trained, well-led and fully prepared for the challenges that this mission will bring."
"The brigade proved themselves as an agile and adaptable force during a rigorous home-station training regimen and will soon complete a rotation to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California — the final validation of their readiness to conduct operations in any environment," Twitty said.
