Photo By Spc. Devin Klecan | FORT KNOX, Ky. (Nov. 3, 2021) -- Lt. Gen. John Kolasheski, commanding general, V...... read more read more
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FORT KNOX, Ky. (Nov. 3, 2021) -- V Corps has demonstrated to the world that once again, “It Will Be Done.”
Gen. Michael X. Garrett, commanding general, U.S. Army Forces Command, and Lt. Gen. John Kolasheski, commanding general, V Corps, declared V Corps as being Fully Operationally Capable during a ceremony held at V Corps Headquarters in Fort Knox, Kentucky, Nov. 3.
The declaration of FOC signifies that the corps met a rigorous set of criteria, including the completion of the Warfighter 22-1 exercise which tested V Corps’ ability to mission command large scale combat operations in a multi-national environment.
“This is now a fully operational headquarters and that means the Victory Corps is ready for its mission,” said Garrett.
In a little over one year, the Soldiers of V Corps proved they were capable of building the corps from the ground up to include all manning, training, and equipping requirements needed to build the high level of readiness to meet operational requirements. This is a testament to the commitment of every Soldier who ensures the corps is ready to defend the U.S., her allies and partner forces in the Eastern European region.
“One year ago, our Army recognized the need for a new Corps headquarters, one of the highest levels of operational command, in order to focus on the European theater’s military threats and opportunities, alongside our partners and allies,” said Garrett. “Re-activating V Corps was the smart decision, because now our Army has the right talent and the right resources aligned against a mission that has only become more important in the past year.”
V Corps was reactivated on Oct. 16, 2020, and V Corps Soldiers, civilians, allies and partners worked together to build a new headquarters. Over the past year, V Corps trained hundreds of Soldiers, welcomed new leaders to the corps, and paved a road of future relationships with NATO allies and partner forces during training and certifying exercises such as Victory Glide, Defender Europe 21, Command Post Exercise 3 and Warfighter 22-1.
“I admire [V Corps’] resilience, in fighting to meet a tight timeline with distributed personnel between a U.S.-based headquarters and an overseas command post in the middle of the most deadly pandemic of our time,” said Garrett. “The agility of this V Corps staff in its first year speaks volumes about what they can and will do next for our nation.”
Kolasheski shared Garrett’s sentiments adding that V Corps not only set up headquarters in Fort Knox, Kentucky, but also the V Corps Headquarters (Forward) in Poland.
“For the past twelve months, this corps raced to accomplish a daunting task – achieve Fully Operational Capable status. Upon the successful completion of Warfighter Exercise 22-1, we achieved this goal,” said Kolasheski. “Today the U.S. Army has a fourth warfighting corps, ready to command and control land forces in Europe or wherever we’re called.”
V Corps will provide a level of command and control focused on synchronizing U.S. Army, allied and partner nation tactical formations operating in Europe. The corps will increase the U.S.’s capacity to compete forward in Europe across the entire spectrum of conflict, counter malign influence, assure allies and partners, deter aggression, and promote regional stability and security.
“Each [Victory Corps Soldier] played a major role in this accomplishment. All Victory Soldiers should be proud,” said Kolasheski. “You represent our nation’s best and brightest and exemplify the legacy and professionalism that V Corps is known for.”
He added a special thanks to the Polish.
“To our Polish friends – we are grateful for your hospitality and appreciate the outstanding support you provide to our rotational Soldiers. We look forward to strengthening an already close friendship.”
V Corps has served the nation throughout many decades and conflicts since its activation in 1918 during the First World War. The corps saw action during World War II and the Cold War, and remained strong and ready to support European allies until the corps was deactivated on June 12, 2013. V Corps received the call to serve the nation once again and was reactivated on Oct. 16, 2020.
V Corps is now the U.S. Army’s fourth corps headquarters and America’s forward deployed corps in Europe.
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 11.03.2021 14:31 |
| Story ID: | 408612 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KY, US |
| Hometown: | FORT KNOX, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 178 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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