The US Army declared that military choppers and equipment from the 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, started arriving at Thessaloniki port, Greece on April 17th, 2023, as the brigade rotates for nine months to support Atlantic Resolve following Russian activities in Ukraine.
In a statement, the Army mentioned that Atlantic Resolve provides alternating deployment of credible combat troops to Europe to demonstrate NATO’s commitment while enhancing readiness, interoperability, and relationships between allied and partner militaries. Lt. Col. Frederick Clapp, the commander of Task Force Brawler, said, “Our presence in Europe is of great importance.
Our task force has labored extensively for the past two years to train and prepare for this mission. We are ready to utilize our personnel, equipment, and aircraft in forging relationships with our European allies and partners.” During the following three weeks, the 4th Battalion will execute port activities, ferry flights to Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, orientation flights in the area, establish task force headquarters, and conduct a relief in place with their equivalents from the 1st Armored Division.
During the next nine months, more than 2,000 soldiers from the 3rd CAB will join in NATO training exercises in Romania, Poland, Latvia, Germany, Bulgaria, and Greece. For many soldiers, this will be their inaugural deployment and an opportunity to cooperate with partner nations. “Atlantic Resolve is an exceptional training event for our whole brigade to boost interoperability with our NATO allies and other US military organizations,” stated Col. Eric Vanek, 3rd CAB commander.
“Our team has worked closely with our partners in and around Hunter Army Airfield to become a deadly fighting force, but now is the time to learn to fight with our allies and better each other.” The 3rd CAB is bringing the Army’s most advanced and lethal multifunctional aviation forces to the theater of operations. The brigade comprises of 109 air platforms, including the AH-64E Apache, UH-60M Blackhawk, CH-47F Chinook, MQ-1C Extended Range Gray Eagle, and RQ-7B Shadow.