FORT HOOD, Texas – III Corps announced today that a company-sized task force from the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) will deploy about 60 soldiers to the Sinai Peninsula to assume duties as the Headquarters Company for the U.S. 1st Support Battalion as part of the Multinational Force and Observer mission.
They will replace members from the North Carolina and Puerto Rico National Guard during their nine-month deployment.
The Headquarters Company provides command, control, administration, and logistics support to the battalion as well as many services to the entire Force. Such services include a chaplain, U.S. military postal services, mortuary affairs services, and ammunition and explosive storage.
The U.S. 1st Support BN provides direct logistical support to the twelve partnered nations that comprise the MFO contingent; Australia, Canada, Colombia, the Czech Republic, the Republic of the Fiji Islands, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Uruguay.
The MFO is an independent international organization, with peacekeeping responsibilities in the Sinai. The origins of the MFO lie in Annex I to the 1979 Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel. In 1981, the Treaty of Parties negotiated a Protocol that established the MFO and defined its mission.
The mission of the MFO is to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace and employ best efforts to prevent any violations of its terms.
For more information concerning Multinational Force and Observers-Sinai, visit their webpage at http://mfo.org/. For more information on the 13th SC(E), contact 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Public Affairs Office at 254-287-7342.