Combat Aviation Brigade to deploy to Afghanistan after a year at home

FORT DRUM — Within 30 days, soldiers and aviators from the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade will be stateside. And those who will stay with the brigade know the next mission will be to Afghanistan in fall 2010.

The brigade's next deployment to Afghanistan was announced Thursday night by the Department of Defense before the first soldiers and aviators return from a 12-month tour of duty in Iraq. The brigade will have the standard 12-month dwell time, or time at home, between the deployments.

But for now, the focus is on bringing the 2,800 soldiers and aviators and hundreds of helicopters back to Drum.

"We are making sure we are ready to receive the soldiers in the barracks and at our welcome home celebrations," said Lt. Col. Dennis J. McKernan, the rear detachment commander for the brigade. "And the other task is making sure that the families are prepared and they are as ready as they can be."

Family members went through reintegration sessions last month. The training was called Battlemind, and gave spouses an opportunity to discuss what changes to expect as their soldiers return from 12 months at war.

Col. McKernan said that he remembers receiving the training as a soldier while deployed in 2005 and that it was great to see it from the spousal perspective this time around. This was his first assignment as a rear detachment commander and his job for the past year and until the brigade returns was to take care of the families of deployed Aviation Brigade soldiers.

"I'm thrilled they do this for the spouse because it gives them understanding of that there is someone else who understands," he said. "It gives the family perspective of what the soldier is going through. A lot changes with a loved one leaving for a year and the dynamics change."

While spouses were going through this training, the deployed soldiers are staying focused on the mission, said Col. Erik C. Peterson, the brigade commander.

Col. Peterson said the brigade will continue to operate at full speed for about another month, until the transfer of authority ceremony takes place Oct. 10. The brigade, stationed in Multinational Division-North, has flown 157,000 hours and supported more than 33,000 missions so far.

Col. Peterson estimated that by the end of the deployment the brigade will have logged 170,000 hours and supported 35,000 missions.

"We need to maintain focus on what we are doing. There is a trend across our Army when at the end of a deployment cycle to lose focus," he said in a phone interview. "We try to avoid that and mitigate that by maintaining focus. We need to keep our leaders engaged and we are doing a fantastic job so far."

Col. Peterson said the brigade is in the last stretch during its deployment and is looking forward to "reuniting with our families and then getting ready for the next round."

The first group of soldiers, or torch party, is expected to return to Fort Drum in the next week or so. A definite return date was not released for security purposes, but that small group of soldiers will help coordinate the return of the larger group and equipment.

Col. McKernan said the brigade will enter a reset phase and have all the helicopters inspected and cleaned. During that process, he said, he anticipates the brigade will receive some new equipment, including an upgraded model of the Chinook helicopter used for transport.

As part of the Afghanistan rotation announcement, the 10th Mountain Division Headquarters unit also will head to the Southeast Asian country in spring 2011. The unit returned from Iraq in May and will have a longer than expected time at home, according to Lt. Col. Paul J. Swiergosz, a 10th Mountain Division spokesman.