Pentagon names units headed to Afghanistan as trainers
Published: February 16, 2012
WASHINGTON – Nearly 1,500 officers and senior noncommissioned officers from six Army units will deploy to Afghanistan later this year to train Afghan National Security Forces, the Pentagon has announced.
The plan, first reported last year in Stars and Stripes, stems from an evolving strategy in Afghanistan that will attempt to quickly push Afghan troops into the lead in combat against insurgents, giving the local forces time to settle into the job prior to the end of the U.S.-led role at the end of 2014. The policy shift, which Army leaders have discussed in recent months, is expected to be announced formally in May at a NATO summit in Chicago.
Soldiers from four brigade combat teams, one separate brigade and an Army command will deploy between April and August. The units are:
• 2nd BCT, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
• 2nd BCT, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
• 3rd BCT, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
• 4th BCT, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
• 162nd Infantry Brigade, Fort Polk, La.
• 1st Army, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.
The troops, along with about 300 Defense Department civilians, will deploy in 18-person Security Force Assistance Teams. Other soldiers from the designated units who are not deploying to Afghanistan will be integrated into other units, primarily at their current bases, the Pentagon said.
