APRIL 6, 2026 – The Colorado National Guard hosted a departure ceremony April 3 for more than 200 Soldiers of the Colorado Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment (Mountain) who are deploying to the Middle East in support of Multinational Force and Observers, an international peacekeeping force that supervises the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty and enforces its terms.
“The Soldiers of this battalion are highly trained, motivated and ready to assume the mission of the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai,” 1-157th Commander U.S. Army Lt. Col. Adam W. Rhum said. “We are proud to be part of this long-standing and successful peacekeeping operation, and we are committed to upholding the legacy of those who have served before us in support of the treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel.”
The departure ceremony was held at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver.
The treaty between Egypt and Israel was a result of the Camp David Accords and ended the state of war that had existed between the two countries. The Multinational Force and Observers, an independent international organization created by agreement between Egypt and Israel to oversee the peace, is supported by 14 nations.
The unit’s tasks will include conducting reconnaissance patrols, staffing observation posts and helping to facilitate base operations.
The 1-157th has a lineage dating back to the Colorado Gold Rush, and was officially designated the “First Colorado” Infantry Regiment in 1883. The regiment served with distinction in World War I and World War II, where it was attached to the 45th Infantry Division and fought in major campaigns including Sicily, Anzio, Italy and southern France.
As a subordinate unit of the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the battalion is now one of only three mountain infantry battalions in the U.S. Army.
The unit is headquartered at Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
For more than 165 years, the men and women of the Colorado National Guard have served our nation in wartime and as the first military responders in support of civil authorities during state emergencies. The Colorado National Guard’s 5,500 Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen are Always Ready, Always There.
By Colorado National Guard