Third US Army combat aviation brigade coming to Afstan/One more BCT needs to be named

Details:

About 2,600 soldiers from the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, of Fort Hood, Texas, will deploy this summer as part of President Obama’s 30,000-troop build-up in Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced Tuesday.

The deployment of the 4th CAB will come just 12 months after its most recent deployment. The CAB returned from Iraq in June.

The addition of the 4th CAB will bring to three the number of combat aviation brigades in Afghanistan, a country known for its rugged terrain and lack of infrastructure.

Also announced Tuesday was the deployment of about 500 support troops that will deploy throughout the summer.

Since Obama announced the troop build-up during a nationally-televised speech Dec. 1, about 25,100 service members have received orders to deploy, including three major Army units.

The major Army units identified for deployment are 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, of Fort Drum, N.Y.; 2nd BCT, 101st Airborne Division, of Fort Campbell, Ky.; and now the 4th CAB.

About 6,700 support forces also have been tapped to deploy, along with 8,500 Marines.

One of the current two combat aviation brigades has been deployed at Kandahar for some time. The 5th Stryker BCT has been in the area for some time and the 2nd BCT, 101st Airborne Division (more here), will be deploying to Kandahar this spring. By my reckoning one more Army BCT coming to Afstan still needs to be identified (see preceding link, more here on American units coming, including Marines).