The Department of Defense recently approved a request for assistance from the State Department to provide temporary housing, sustainment, and support inside the United States for specified Afghan Special Immigration Visa applicants and their families, and possibly other vulnerable Afghans, at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, and Fort Bliss, Texas, in addition to Fort Lee, Virginia.

Approximately 130 service members from the 627th Field Hospital and the 546th Area Support Medical Company, 1st Medical Brigade from Fort Carson, Colo. and Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos), Texas respectively, have deployed to provide medical support at Fort McCoy, in order to assist in these efforts as part of the task force located there.  Additionally, the 49th Movement Control Battalion, 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command from Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos) have deployed 2 Soldiers to Fort Bliss, Texas to serve as linguistic translators.

U.S. Northern Command is the Department of Defense’s lead combatant command for this mission in the continental United States and is providing oversight in support of the Department of State.  U.S. Army North, as U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command, is the lead operational command for this mission.

“1st Medical Brigade, as the largest and most diverse medical unit in the Army, has the clinical, operational, and administrative expertise to be able to respond quickly and in great measure when called upon by our nation,” explained Col Scot A. Tebo, the Chief of Professional Services for 1st MED BDE.  “We are deploying personnel to multiple locations in the U.S. and overseas in support of Operation Allies Refuge.”

The task force at Fort McCoy will provide the housing, medical, logistics, and transportation support.

We are proud to join Task Force McCoy, U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command and the Department of Defense team, in supporting the State Department with this mission.