Uncasing its colors, 3rd BCT, 10th Mtn Div is home

FORT JOHNSON, La. — The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division command team, Col. Josh Glonek and Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Frame, removed the case from the brigade colors during a ceremony at Spike Field, April 23.
After a year deployed supporting allies of NATO’s eastern flank with Operation Atlantic Resolve, the brigade’s Patriots are home.
“Our time deployed to Europe was a unique experience for the brigade,” said Glonek. “As a rotational unit, our mission was to assure our allies and deter adversary aggression. It is a mission we took incredibly seriously. There is an ongoing war in Ukraine, and some (NATO) forward operations and expeditionary bases are within miles
from the conflict’s border.”
NATO’s eastern flank consists of a forward presence in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
An added undertaking during this deployment sees the brigade forging history and creating a new trajectory with the Army’s progressive future. Changes happened to the brigade’s formations while asserting its role in Transformation in Contact. As one of the three units acting with new, cutting-edge technology offered by the Army, the brigade reorganized and enhanced their formations, increasing lethality and impact.
Driven by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy A. George, Transformation in Contact is an Army initiative evaluating electronic warfare, counter-unmanned aerial systems, and how personnel and tactics align with technologies. The effort spans regions and theaters in Europe, the Pacific, the Middle East and the continental U.S.
The Patriots development thrived pioneering Transformation in Contact in the deployed environment, Glonek said.
“The brigade’s Soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers are in charge of finding and executing innovative solutions to the Army’s toughest matters,” he said.
Today, the brigade’s enhanced capabilities include hundreds of drones, loitering munitions, infantry squad vehicles, new communications equipment, and other technologies that allow them to fight in innovative ways and reflect the realities of modern combat, Glonek said.
“Our deployment to Europe resulted in a highly trained and incredibly lethal organization,” Glonek said.
“This brigade looks completely different today than it did a year ago,” Glonek said.
“I could not be prouder to be part of the organization,” he said. “From my position I am blessed to see the great accomplishments made by the Soldiers and leaders of this brigade on a daily basis.”
“What these men and women in front of you have accomplished is truly inspiring,” Glonek said. “I cannot wait to see what lies ahead.”
Col. Mark Andres, deputy commanding officer at Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson, spoke on behalf of Brig. Gen. Jason A. Curl, commanding general of JRTC and Fort Johnson, and Maj. Gen. Scott M. Naumann, commanding general of the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum, New York.
“You all are the right people, in the right formation, in the right place at the right time,” Andres said.
He said the Patriots were not the only ones due honor.
“While deployed, your families, spouses and significant others shouldered heavy burdens,” he said.
Andres expressed gratitude to the families and said their sacrifice was integral to the brigade’s mission success.
“Your strength is the quiet force behind every mission; you all carried the weight of absence with grace,” he said.
“For 270 days and 2,700 (personnel) strong, Patriots deployed across NATO’s eastern flank. They provided critical assurance and deterrence throughout six countries to our NATO allies,” Andres said. “Not only did the Patriot Brigade conduct current operations, but they also helped lead the way for the Army’s transformation, testing advanced systems and demonstrating what our future Army needs to look like today - time now!”
Andres asked a poignant question to the brigade, given all their accomplishments during the past year. “Who better than to write this page in history of 10th Mountain Division and the Patriot Brigade?” Andres asked. “I say, no one.”
Bearing witness to the brigade’s exceptional professional acumen here at JRTC, Andres said he also served alongside 3rd BCT,10th Mountain Division during two of his deployments.
“I will tell you there is no better unit prepared to accomplish these diverse missions than the Patriot Brigade,” he said.
Andres commended the brigade’s remarkable reputation. He described the Patriot Brigade as the confident and capable workhorse within the Army’s most deployed division.

“This shows every day, in who you are and how you carry yourselves,” Andres said.
“You are all steak! No sizzle,” Andres exclaimed.
“This brigade punches well above its weight with little expectation of fanfare, which are marks of a cohesive, well disciplined, professional team and demands recognition,” Andres said. “Patriots you’ve met every challenge with this deployment with professionalism, resilience and unwavering focus and now your colors are uncased once more at Fort Johnson. Now all the Patriots are home, I want to say, Job well
done!”
From April 2024 to June 2024 the Patriot Brigade took part in Exercise Defender Europe 24. The brigade deployed one third of their personnel to Norway. While there, they executed a 900-kilometer road march from Norway to Sweden to Finland, culminating with a force-on-force exercise alongside Norwegian and Finnish NATO allies. This event marked the first time in U.S. Army history that a brigade-size element took part in a training event in Finland. Following Defender Europe 24, the Patriot Brigade deployed in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve in June 2024, relieving 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division across five forward operating sites throughout six NATO countries. From June 2024 to March 2025, the Patriot Brigade contributed successfully to the Transformation in Contact action fielding modernized network and command and control, unmanned ariel systems, and vehicles across the formation. This transformation culminated with Exercise Combined Resolve 25 at the Joint Multinational Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany. The Patriot Brigade transferred responsibility to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in March 2025 and redeployed to Fort Johnson to continue preparation for future missions.