General Ben Hodges stated that relevant equipment of the Brigade has already left Fort Carson. At the moment it is being loaded onto ships in Texas, from where, on 6th January, it is expected to arrive in Bremerhaven.

The aforesaid statement has been made during the meeting with the Polish Defence Minister, Antoni Macierewicz. The shipment is going to reach Germany on 6th January 2017. Next, within the framework of the rapid deployment operation, the individual units would be relocated to Western Poland via land transport, including roads and railways. 

At the beginning of its operations, the ABCT will be stationed in the western part of Poland, somewhere between Drawsko Pomorskie and Żagań. Next, some of its elements are going to be deployed in other locations within the NATO Eastern Flank, including the Baltic States or Romania. Within the framework of the first rotation, the Brigade’s command, and engineering and support battalions, 3rd Battalion of the 29th Artillery Regiment, and 4th Battalion of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, are expected to be stationed within the Polish military facilities of Żagań, Świętoszów, Skwierzyna and Bolesławiec.

In total, around 4 thousand troops, 90 M1A2 Abrams tanks, 130 M2/M3 Bradley IFV/reconnaissance vehicles and around 20 M109A6 self-propelled howitzers are to maintain their presence in Europe. Additional equipment package for at least another brigade is to be deployed to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, so that, should a threat emerge, it would only be required to deploy the soldiers, without the need of transporting the equipment.

“I am very happy with the fact that the Americans have made a decision to deploy a heavy brigade earlier. [...] Starting from late January, the US Brigade forces would be stationed within the territory of Poland, while in April, the battalion combat team would begin its rotation in Orzysz, securing the Suwałki Gap” – as it was announced by Antoni Macierewicz.