Fort Campbell, KY. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) A farewell ceremony was held Tuesday at Fort Campbell for the first group of soldiers with the 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment “Out Front”, of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) who are deploying to Southwest Asia. Quite a few of the soldiers spent time on their phones or computers, no doubt talking with family and friends as they waited to leave at Campbell Army Airfield.
Between 400-500 soldiers are deploying for nine months and are part of an attack reconnaissance squadron organized and equipped to support multinational Army operations. Their mission will focus on building partner capacity in the Middle East to promote self-reliance and increased security. The Commanding General of the 101st and Fort Campbell, Major General Andrew Poppas, met with many of the soldiers and spoke to them briefly about their mission before they boarded the plane.
2nd Squadron Commander, Lt. Colonel Cayton Johnson talked about the mission of protecting soldiers from threats that have been presented in the area where they are deploying. “The ground force commanders in that area combating those threats rely often on the Apache helicopter and the unmanned aerial vehicles that we employ in providing them that combat capability to protect the soldiers on the ground,” said Johnson.
