A Soldier from Task Force Phoenix, led by 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, based out of Fort Drum, slowly directs a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter down the ramp of a U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy ...

RIGA, Latvia -- Kicking off as the first rotational combat aviation brigade deployed in Eastern Europe, Soldiers of Task Force Phoenix, led by 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, from Fort Drum, N.Y., displayed their skills as a team to download two Black Hawks and realign the blades into flying position at Riga International Airport on March 1 in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve.

Operation Atlantic Resolve is a U.S.-led effort in Eastern Europe that demonstrates U.S. commitment to the collective security of NATO and dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region.

The exercise is a demonstration of rapid deployment of U.S. forces and equipment in support of NATO interests. The Air Force C-5 aircraft carrying the Black Hawks left New York, where 10th CAB is based, earlier that morning and arrived at Riga approximately eight hours later, said Maj. Gen. Timothy Zedalis, vice commander, U.S. Air Force Europe and Air Force Africa.

"In the very near future, within about a couple hours, they will have the ability to actually fly and start conducting missions," said Brig. Gen. Timothy Daugherty, U.S. Army Europe deputy chief of staff, G-3. "Indeed, two days from now, they already have a joint operation with our Latvian allies to conduct military operations."

Soldiers transported the Black Hawks to a nearby hangar and diligently began to perform routine work.

Working as a team, 10th CAB Soldiers removed their equipment from the Black Hawk and reassembled parts of the helicopter from stowed to operational status.

In short, they demonstrated the exact reasons why Daugherty called 10th CAB a "tremendous resource for the Army."

Even as the Soldiers did what was to them an everyday activity, it served as a display of U.S. capabilities and commitment for NATO Allies and Europe's collective security.

"Each individual country's strength is NATO, and the strength of NATO is each individual country," Daugherty said. "I think that we see, through the actions we have inside Europe right now, that the United States Army is fulfilling that commitment to NATO."