81st SBCT Headquarters Element begins journey to Ukraine

Photo By Maj. Sara Morris | Command Sgt. Maj. Eric Honeycutt bumps elbows with the Soldiers in the 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team Headquarters element as they prepare to board their flight to Fort Bliss for premobilization training before heading to Ukraine as a part of the Joint Multinational Training Group.  

MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, WA, UNITED STATES

04.01.2021

Story by Sara Morris 

Joint Force Headquarters - Washington National Guard

The 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team has an interesting 2021 ahead of them, as more then one element is headed to Eastern Europe in support of multiple missions.

“The 81st has a busy calendar year coming up, following this historic time in the Washington National Guard with hundreds of volunteers supporting the COVID-19 missions,” said Col. James Perrin, Commander of the 81st SBCT.

Perrin continued, “We are on the verge of mobilizing the Brigade Headquarters to deploy to Ukraine to support the Joint Multinational Training Group Ukraine mission. Which is really a sort of ‘Advise and Assist’ mission working with the armed forces of Ukraine to build their security capacity.”

The 81st SBCT Headquarters element is there to continue the effort to establish a combat training center, using the model of the U.S. Army’s national training center. The Task Force will be acting in a number of different levels, as battalion advisors to the Ukraine Observer, Coach Trainer (O/CT), operations group that help with exercise design life cycle, and incorporating lessons learned into the next rotation.

With all the COVID restrictions hindering in-person training during the last year the Brigade has had to be aggressive with completing training requirements in a virtual environment.

“We have been able to complete exercise design life cycle courses, our O/CT courses, and refreshers on how to conduct After Action Reviews, leaving space in our mobilization time at Fort Bliss to complete any training that requires a hands-on approach,” said Perrin.

At the same time, Task Force Dark Rifles, largely from 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment, will mobilize and deploy to Poland to serve as NATO’s Battle Group Poland Force.

The battalion task force had a few different premobilization requirements as it will be part of a multinational division.

“They will be a multinational battalion task force, giving their soldiers experience working alongside other national militaries and opportunities to work with foreign forces throughout their deployment,” said Perrin.

Task Force Dark Rifles recently completed its time at the National Training Center, and the 81st SBCT Headquarters element is finishing up its premobilization training at Fort Bliss currently.

“We’ve had these missions on the horizon now for about five years, and everyone has understood that they are going on these missions, and now that the time is here we are both excited and nervous,” said Perrin.

The 81st SBCT is ready to complete rotations and bring their knowledge gained back to the Washington Army National Guard to incorporate the lessons learned into their own training.

• Date Taken: 04.01.2021
• Date Posted: 04.01.2021 16:39
• Story ID: 392891
• Location: MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, WA, US
• Hometown: CAMP MURRAY, WA, US
• Hometown: MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, WA, US