The Soldiers of 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, case their unit’s colors during a colors casing ceremony at the William B. Reed Special Event Center, Jan. 4, 2017. The ceremony symbolizes the unit’s movement of operations from its home station to central and eastern Europe, in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)
By Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor
3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
Col. Christopher R. Norrie, right, commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher David Gunn case the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, colors during a ceremony at the William “Bill” Reed Special Events Center Jan. 4, 2017. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)
The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, command team cased its unit’s colors during a Jan. 4, 2017, ceremony at the William “Bill” Reed Special Events Center.
The ceremony symbolized the unit’s movement of operations from its home station at Fort Carson to central and eastern Europe in support of Atlantic Resolve.
“Just over a year ago many of the Soldiers and leaders in our formation … were in the Middle East — in Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iraq,” said Col. Christopher R. Norrie, commander, 3rd ABCT. “Those same Soldiers will start to arrive in Europe and will shortly join our friends in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Germany in a combined effort to deter potential aggression in a critical part of the world.”
The ceremony began with an inspection of the formation followed by the traditional casing of the colors of the brigade headquarters and each subordinate battalion.
“The prospect of fighting a near-peer adversary today, not just here but anywhere in the world, is concerning,” Norrie said.
He noted the increased access to technology, an emphasis on combined arms doctrine and the ability to simultaneously exploit vulnerabilities across multiple domains offset the brigade’s capabilities in ways that are difficult to anticipate.
Col. Christopher R. Norrie, right, commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher David Gunn case the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, colors during a ceremony at the William “Bill” Reed Special Events Center Jan. 4, 2017. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)
“No one wants conflict in this part of the world, and we look forward to doing our part to help prevent it (by) assuring our allies of our commitment to them and our shared interests, and deterring aggression through our physical presence as well as our demonstrated lethality. And when you have a task like that, there is no team that I would rather be a part of than this team — not just our 3rd Brigade team, but the great 4th Infantry Division team and the tremendous Fort Carson community team.”
Operations Sgt. Maj. Christopher Williams said the brigade has operated well during the nine months of training leading up to the deployment.
“We’ve had a phenomenal train-up period,” he said. “One thing I can say about this unit is how quickly it persevered when faced with challenges. One of the challenges we’re having is a compressed timeline with getting our equipment overseas after coming back from the National Training Center (Fort Irwin, California).”
He said Families have also contributed to the unit’s success.
“We have a lot of resilient Families,” said Williams. “The support of the Families, who are the true heart and soul of our organization, is truly remarkable.”
Williams is confident the Army is sending its best to support Atlantic Resolve.
“I truly believe that they are getting the finest combat arms lethal brigade in the Army,” said Williams. “I think it will show in so many different ways, not only in partnership but social interactions.”
The Soldiers of 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, load on a bus to head over to the Arrival/Departure Airfield Control Group to fly out to central and eastern Europe, in support of Atlantic Resolve, Colorado Springs, Colo., Jan 4, 2017. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)