The 4th Combat Aviation Brigade based at Fort Carson-Butts AAF (CO) has arrived in Europe for Operation Atlantic Resolve!
In total more than 1,700 troops and 65 aircraft will be deployed to Europe. More than sixty helicopters were down loaded from a cargo vessel in Rotterdam harbour yesterday, 20 June. They consisted of 49 Black Hawk helicopters (26 UH-60M, fifteen HH-60M and eight UH-60L) and twelve CH-47F Chinook helicopters. Today, 21 June, the first groups flew to their first technical stop at Eindhoven airport.
The unloading from the vessel was only finished just before midnight, but the first flights out were already scheduled the next day in the morning! Due to strong winds the first flights were cancelled in the end, but in the evening an impressive amount of 25 Blackhawks and four Chinooks were already airborne. The others will follow within the next few days. All will continue their journey to Ansbach and Illesheim in Germany, before some will deploy further into eastern Europe and to various exercises. During the latest deployments Forward Operating Bases at Riga (Latvia), Powidz (Poland) and Mihail Kogalniceanu (Romania) were used. It is expected that the last four additional Blackhawks will arrive by air freight directly near one of the FOBs.
The brigade's 4th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, flying the AH-64D Apache, will deploy to Europe later. In contradiction to what was reported before, the unit will not deploy to the Middle East (sic), and also not to South Korea (scheduled), but will follow the rest of the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade to Europe for
Operation Atlantic Resolve,
NATO's response to the Russian aggression in eastern Europe.
It will be the third
United States Army rotational aviation brigade combat team that takes up the Atlantic Resolve mission to provide a continuous presence in Europe. The 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, will replace 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, out of Fort Hood (TX), which has been in Europe for nine months.
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