NOVEMBER 2, 2022 — The XVIII Airborne Corps headquarters has officially returned from Europe following a nine-month deployment where America’s Contingency Corps rapidly deployed to Germany in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and to assure our European Allies and partners.
In February 2022, over 300 personnel from the Corps headquarters deployed from Fort Bragg to provide a joint task force-capable headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany.
This deployment was directed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III as a response to a heightened security environment in Eastern Europe and to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank.
“It’s an incredible honor to serve alongside the men and women of the XVIII Airborne Corps,” said Lt. Gen. Christopher T. Donahue, the commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg.
“Our Soldiers answered the nation’s call by supporting our European Allies and partners during a historic period. We thank them and their Families for their sacrifice and welcome them back home to the place that is the beacon of liberty.”
In the face of Russia’s aggressive actions and unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine, the United States temporarily deployed approximately 20,000 additional forces and now has approximately 100,000 U.S. service members throughout Europe.
The XVIII Airborne Corps’ mission was vital and ever changing, deploying to bolster capabilities inside NATO’s eastern flank and evolving by serving as the centerpiece for the train-and-equip mission to support Ukraine in the defense of its nation.
“This was a historic mission for America’s Contingency Corps”, said Command Sgt. Maj. T.J. Holland, senior enlisted advisor for the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg.
“This was the first time the Corps has deployed to the European continent since World War II, and the commander and I are proud of every one of our Soldiers who rapidly deployed to reassure our Allies and partners, and showing the American people the Army’s standards of readiness and perseverance this organization embodies.”
The U.S. maintains significant numbers of combat-capable forces in Europe and if deterrence fails, stands shoulder-to-shoulder with our Allies.
The XVIII Airborne Corps is America’s strategic response force, capable of deploying on short notice anywhere in the world by air, land, or sea to conduct unified land operations as an Army, Joint, or Combined Task Force Headquarters.
By Sgt. Maj. Alex Licea