Two aviation brigades will deploy abroad in the months ahead, Army officials announced Friday.
The 82nd Airborne Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade will deploy across the Middle East in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 “as part of a regular rotation of forces,” a news release said.
Although officials did not specify the Fort Liberty, North Carolina-based unit’s exact mission or destination, its troops will replace those of the Army National Guard’s 185th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade. The outgoing Guard unit, which deployed around May, is headquartered in Mississippi and consisted of troops from 11 states.
And the 1st Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade will also deploy in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, according to the release. The aviators from Fort Riley, Kansas, are heading to Europe.
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The Big Red One’s aviation wing will replace the 3rd Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade there. Known as “Marne Air,” the departing troops were there for roughly nine months “to support the United States’ commitment to NATO allies and partners,” the release said.
Once in Europe, the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade’s soldiers will join thousands of other U.S. troops there as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a long-running NATO deterrence mission that kicked into a higher gear when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
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.
