Hundreds of Screaming Eagle soldiers departed Monday from Campbell Army Airfield on a nine-month deployment to Europe, to assure NATO allies and deter Russian aggression in the region.
According to a news release, elements of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and 101st Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division Air Assault, have been assigned to carry out the mission, which marks the first time the division has deployed to Europe in nearly 80 years.
Colonel John Lubas says, “We’re going to check the Russian influence and we’re going to impact the Russians’ decision-making for probably the next 10-20 years. We’re going to do this with all our partners in NATO, the European Union and the West, and this is an incredibly important mission.”
Lubas said the Soldiers will contribute to that mission by representing the 101st with excellence in training exercises across Europe. Many of the Soldiers assigned to the mission in Europe have previous experience with multinational training exercises.