FORT HOOD, Texas - Col. Brian Winski, commander, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and his troopers gathered on Fort Hood’s Cooper Field, Sept. 1, to case the brigade’s colors in preparation for deployment in support of Operation New Dawn.
This is the third deployment for the Long Knife brigade since 2005, when it was first activated. During the last overseas tour, the troops partnered with the Iraqi security forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Long Knives will be the first brigade to deploy in support of Operation New Dawn.
“Every Long Knife trooper knows they are part of a championship team,” said Maj. Gen. Daniel Allyn, commanding general of the 1st Cav. Div. “Whatever challenges may arise on the battlefield the soldiers and families of Long Knife are prepared.”
The colors casing ceremony is an Army tradition symbolizing the movement of a unit to a new theater of operations. The brigade colors will be uncased once the Soldiers arrive overseas and begin their new mission.
Along with casing the brigade colors, the unit’s Stability Transition Teams were formally activated during the ceremony. The STTs will effectively allow the brigade to advise, train, assist and enable three Iraqi Divisions while deployed in support of Operation New Dawn.
“Congratulations for everything you’ve accomplished this past year in preparing for this mission, and congratulations in advance for your contributions to this critical phase of our involvement in Iraq,” said Winski.
“This is a historic opportunity to finish what we’ve started and we will succeed,” he said. “Our actions will bring great credit on our unit, the ‘First Team’, the 3rd Corps and our Army.”