CAMP HOVEY, South Korea (Feb. 17, 2016) -- More than 4,100 Soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, are arriving in South Korea to ensure peace on the Korean peninsula and deter North Korean aggression.
Soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team "Ironhorse," 1st Cavalry Division, began arriving here, Feb. 1, to begin their nine-month rotation. Ironhorse Soldiers replace the Soldiers of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team "Black Jack," 1st Cavalry Division, who completed the first rotation of a U.S. armored brigade in the Korean peninsula from June 2015 to February 2016.
"Black Jack Soldiers have laid a foundation that we can build upon, and we can do some more integrated training and really build cohesion between our forces and the Republic of Korea army," said Col. John DiGiambattista, commander, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team.
Planning for the Ironhorse brigade's Korea rotation began before the brigade left for its October National Training Center rotation last year, starting with identifying manning requirements for the rotation.
"It's a huge requirement to get the numbers accurate and to find out who's actually deploying," said Maj. Albert Pride, brigade logistics officer.
Even without sending any tactical vehicles or armor, the brigade still sent more than 50 containers of equipment to Korea.
One of the most difficult parts of moving a brigade is getting all the timing organized between the flights of Soldiers and getting the brigade's containers to the port in time to get them shipped to Korea, said Pride.
"There is a very small window that we have to operate in, because ships are sailing - everything has to be synchronized just right to have a successful rotation," said Pride.
Adding to the complexity is the number of different organizations, units and personnel involved, including the U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Army Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and the 1st Cavalry Division Transportation Office, to name just a few, said Pride.
"One thing to note about this brigade, it rolls like no other unit I've been in," said Pride.
For Soldiers, the deployment has been a smooth one.
"I think it's going to be a good rotation, everything looks positive so far," said Spc. Dajhone Green, a cannon crew member with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team.
First on the plate for Ironhorse Soldiers is participating in regularly scheduled annual exercises with Republic of Korea forces.
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