Story by. Capt. Taylor Criswell, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade Public Affairs

The 1st Air Cavalry Brigade (1ACB), 1st Cavalry Division, held a colors casing ceremony at Cooper Field on Nov. 10, commemorating the official start of a rotation to Europe in support of Atlantic Resolve.

1st Cavalry Division pageantry was on full display at Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos)’s Cooper Field as Soldiers and family members gathered to mark the occasion. The 1st Cav. Div. Band and Horse Cavalry Detachment rounded out the event in true “First Team” fashion.

During the ceremony, 1ACB battalions cased their colors alongside the brigade, representing that they too were part of the deployment. The 1-227th Aviation Regiment displayed cased colors from the beginning of the ceremony as 1-227 is currently deployed to U.S. Central Command in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.

Col. Reggie Harper, commander of 1ACB, exuded boldness and confidence in his organization while giving remarks during the ceremony. This deployment “will make us better as individuals and as a unit,” he said. “We will safeguard the reputation of our units and this country.”

Harper’s intent is to take full advantage of the abundant training opportunities during the rotation.

“When you take advantage of those opportunities, you get better. We should leave Europe in a higher state of readiness than we are right now,” he said. “Right now we are good, but when we get over there, we get better.”

Atlantic Resolve increases interoperability – the ability of U.S. forces and systems to operate in concert with those of other countries; a critical component of bolstering an extended network of alliances and partnerships capable of meeting the challenges in today’s global security environment.

“Because of where we’re at and working with partners almost every time we train, we’re going to develop relationships with NATO partners, NATO allies, partner nations and U.S. forces that we don’t typically work with.”

Harper stated that training hard with partners and allies allows the entire team to get better together and builds confidence in our combined capabilities. “When we do those things, we send a clear message to any potential adversary. We make them think twice,” he said. “Air Cav is on watch.”

Training conditions in Europe during the winter and early spring will test the personnel and equipment in ways that cannot be replicated at Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos). High altitudes and sustained frigid temperatures will be just a few of the unique challenges.

“There is no survive. It is thrive,” said Harper. “That takes consistent leadership and focus. And it’s not easy. We’re going to take the hard right, and that requires people to be switched on as leaders.”

This is the second time 1ACB will fully deploy the brigade to Europe and the seventh rotation of an aviation brigade for Atlantic Resolve. 1ACB will operate primarily out of Germany, but will have a presence in other Atlantic Resolve participating countries, such as Greece and Romania. The brigade will align under the mission command of 1st Infantry Division (1ID) Forward. The 1st Cavalry Division Forward preceded 1ID as the mission command element for Atlantic Resolve, transferring authority in July 2021.

Atlantic Resolve is funded by the European Deterrence Initiative, which enables the U.S. to enhance deterrence, increase readiness and support NATO.

For media queries about Atlantic Resolve, email atlanticresolve@army.mil.

For more information about the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, please contact Capt. Taylor Criswell, Brigade Public Affairs Officer, at donald.t.criswell.mil@army.mil.

Affairs Officer, at donald.t.criswell.mil@army.mil.