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Spartan Brigade to deploy to Afghanistan

A 12-month deployment to Afghanistan for 3,500 soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division was announced Friday by the Army.

The 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), the “Spartan Brigade,” was stood up in the fall of 2005 and in October 2006 deployed to Iraq to become part of the 3rd Infantry Division’s Task Force Marne and Multi-National Division-Center.

The unit returned in December 2007, so it will have had about 14 months’ dwell time when it deploys next month.

The Spartan Brigade will hold a deployment ceremony at its home base of Fort Richardson, Alaska, on Feb. 2 and begin deploying thereafter, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Lee Packnett said.

The brigade will replace the 101st Airborne Division’s 4th BCT, which has been in southeastern Afghanistan at Forward Operating Base Salerno since March 2008. This could mean that 4/101, which was scheduled to redeploy in June, may be home early. The Army would not confirm a redeployment date.

Their arrival in country will coincide closely with that of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd BCT, which is still in the process of deploying to Afghanistan from Fort Drum, N.Y.

The 3rd BCT was originally slated for an Iraq deployment and was diverted late last year for Afghanistan.

Expectations are that more brigades with deployment orders for Iraq will be diverted to Afghanistan because the Defense Department has announced a 30,000-troop increase there by next summer.

The Army has not said which units may be diverted.

The 4th BCT, a light brigade has six battalions:

• 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry;

• 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry;

• 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry;

• 2nd Battalion, 377th Field Artillery;

• 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion;

• 725th Brigade Support Battalion.