Fort Bragg troops start arriving in Poland while Fort Campbell preps for deployment
 

Fort Bragg troops start arriving in Poland while Fort Campbell preps for deployment
By: Rachel Riley & Craig Shoup - USA Today News - 01-17-22
Re: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ll/6831293001/

Military communities in North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee are sending thousands of troops to Europe to bolster NATO defenses amid a conflict with Russia.

So far, the Pentagon has ordered 4,700 troops from Fort Bragg to deploy to Europe. On Feb. 2, Defense officials announced that about 1,700 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division would deploy an infantry brigade combat team to Poland. Those troops arrived just days later. And on Feb. 11, another 3,000 troops were told to deploy.

The 18th Airborne Corps also deployed about 200 soldiers as a joint task force-capable headquarters to Germany.

“We are always prepared to deploy at a moment’s notice to conduct contingency operations in support of our national security objectives," said Capt. Matthew Visser, a spokesman for the 18th Airborne Corps.

Visser said the 82nd Airborne Division is a ready force, always at a “heightened state of alert.”

Photo slide gallery of movements:
Re: https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...pjpg&auto=webp

The 101st Airborne Division Air Assault out of Fort Campbell, which straddles Kentucky and Tennessee, is also preparing a contingent.

On Feb. 15, Maj. Gen. JP McGee of the 101st Airborne Division said "several hundred" troops would be deployed from Fort Campbell.

"Preparations for this deployment have been underway for weeks and our soldiers are ready," McGee said during a Fort Campbell town hall.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday that the U.S. consulted with its ally, Poland, and both sides determined it was necessary to send more troops “given what our intelligence was telling us, and given the potential need for additional capability in Poland.”

2nd photo link: https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...pjpg&auto=webp
Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Div. walk across the tarmac at Green Ramp to deploy
to Poland on Feb. 14, 2022 at Fort Bragg, Near Fayetteville, N.C.

Kirby said the 82nd is multimission capable, "trained and equipped for a variety of missions to deter aggression and to reassure and to defend our allies."

An additional 8,500 troops across divisions have been put on high alert.

More:What are Joe Biden's options with Russia in Ukraine? That all depends on Putin's next move.

President Joe Biden has said he will not send U.S. troops to Ukraine to fight a war. He has ordered additional forces, including headquarters personnel and combat troops, to Poland and Romania to reassure those NATO allies that Washington would fulfill its treaty commitment to respond to Russian aggression against NATO territory. Ukraine is not a NATO member but receives U.S. and allied military support and training.
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Personal note: Things are moving once again the issue with Russia & Ukraine are not
going away anytime soon.