FORT CARSON, Colo. – A break in the clouds let the sun shine onto Founder’s Field, Fort Carson, Colo., as the formation of 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division soldiers cased its colors Sept. 27 in preparation for their upcoming deployment to Kuwait.
The brigade, consisting of 4,000 soldiers, will deploy a fraction of their makeup for nine months to conduct security cooperation, joint exercises and training with our regional partners.
“We’ll be working with our Kuwaiti and regional partners doing joint exercises and training, while also training on our own to maintain our war-fighting proficiency,” said Andrew Koloski brigade deputy commander, 2nd ABCT, 4th ID.
Just outside a year since the brigade returned from Afghanistan, the unit will now replace its sister brigade, the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, “Raiders,” also from Fort Carson, Colo., in Kuwait.
“Now it’s our turn. The nation calls again, but this time it’s a different fight, but it’s a fight that’s vitally important to our national security,” said Col. Omar Jones IV, commander, 2nd ABCT, 4th ID. “While leaders and people across the world and across our nation focus on the Middle East and focus on the Arabian peninsula, that’s where the Warhorse Brigade will be. While deployed, it will be our job to be ready, to respond to any crisis within the region, to ensure the security of American personnel and equipment in three different countries, and to partner as peers with many different nations as we share techniques, work side-by-side, and get better every day as we improve the capabilities and effectiveness of both our team and theirs.”
The training facilities in Kuwait will provide some of the best facilities that the Army has available, said Jones.
It will allow for the final phase of the brigade’s unified land operation training, a more traditional style of fighting where for the brigade fights as one cohesive unit against an enemy that is of equal strength and capability.
A transformation that began in the snows of Pinon Canyon and matured in the scorching heat of the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif.
“We are blazing a path that the rest of the Army will follow as we transition out of Afghanistan during the next 18 months,” said Jones. “Our deployment exemplifies what future operations will look like for the Army, deploy from home station, deter aggression, work closely with partners, and be ready to respond to any crisis.”
The brigade cased seven guidons - one brigade and six battalion guidons - colors that have flown high above the beaches of Normandy, the streets of Iraq, the mountains of Afghanistan and soon the sands of Kuwait.
“The brigade has trained hard. We’re ready to deploy. We’re ready to give Raider Brigade a break, and we look forward to the mission,” said Koloski.