FORT HOOD, Texas — One-hundred-sixty soldiers from Fort Hood deployed to Europe on Monday to help support NATO allies as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine.
The 160 soldiers who deployed are from the III Armored Corps. They are part of 7,000 U.S. military personnel who are deploying from across the nation to help support the NATO Response Force in "various missions to reinforce the U.S. European Command posture on NATO's eastern flank," according to a news release.
“Our soldiers are trained and ready,” said Col. Matthew Ruedi, the 13th ESC deputy commanding officer. “Elements of our heavy transportation company have deployed to Europe to reassure NATO allies, deter Russian aggression, and are prepared to support a range of other operations in the region.”
Where the soldiers will deploy, specifically, or how long the deployment will be was not announced.
The families of the soldiers will also be kept in the loop during the process of the unit getting ready to deploy, Ruedi said.
“It's not just our soldiers that we ensure are ready for this mission, but we do everything we can to make sure Families are ready, too,” Ruedi said. “Things can change rapidly in situations like this. Making sure we communicate with our families not only helps manage expectations, but it also contributes to our overall readiness.”
Fort Hood deploys units to support European operations
The U.S. military now has about 100,000 personnel in Europe with full intensions to boost the NATO alliance.
"We will defend every inch of NATO territory if it comes under attack," said the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a press conference Monday. "No one should doubt our readiness, no one should doubt our resolve."
Although thousands of American troops are near the borders of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby says they will not intervene.
"We are not and will not send forces into Ukraine," he said at a press conference Monday.
Kirby did comment that the United States is helping Ukraine in other ways but wouldn't share further details of exactly what the aid was and how it was getting into Ukraine.
"We know that the material that that we have been sending into Ukraine, and it's not just us, it's 14 other countries, but we know that that material is getting into the hands of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and we do know that they that they're using it and they're using it quite effectively," he said.