U.S. Army Pfc. Jariem Villafane, an infantryman assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, throws a training grenade during E3B qualifications on Fort Drum, N.Y., Oct. 21, 2025. (Alexandria Halbert/U.S. Army)
An infantry brigade from Fort Drum, N.Y., will soon deploy to the Middle East in a regular rotation of troops, the Army announced Monday.
The 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, will deploy in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the more than a decade-old mission primarily focused on destroying the Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria, according to an Army announcement.
The brigade will replace the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division from the Iowa Army National Guard, which has operated in support of OIR since last summer. The Iowa Guard announced Sunday some of the brigade’s soldiers would be returning home earlier than expected “due to progress achieved toward U.S. Central Command objectives.” The first batch of those soldiers was expected to return to Iowa in the coming days.
“During their deployment, these [Iowa National Guard] soldiers worked alongside coalition and regional partners to significantly reduce the capabilities of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, helping improve security and stability throughout the region,” according to the Iowa Guard.
Army officials did not say precisely when the 10th Mountain troops were expected to leave Fort Drum.
The deployment will mark the first for 10th Mountain’s 2nd Brigade since it began transitioning last year to a mobile brigade combat team — the Army’s latest way of organizing its light infantry brigades to provide maximum battlefield mobility and the capability to operate dispersed across a wide area. Mobile brigade combat teams have been outfitted in the last year with some of the latest Army technology.
The unit has been preparing for months for the deployment, according to the Army. In August, it completed a training rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La.
The Army also officially announced Monday that the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., would deploy to South Korea to replace the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division from Fort Carson, Colo.
Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division began arriving at Camp Humphreys in South Korea last week.
That deployment is a regular rotation of U.S. forces, according to the service.
