Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) are among the U.S. military units on heightened alert to deploy in support of NATO allies in the event of threats from Russia in Eastern Europe, officials at the Pentagon and Fort Campbell confirmed Thursday.
“As we have for the last 77 years, the 101st Airborne Division stands ready to deploy anywhere to support and defend the Nation and our Allies,” Maj. Gen. J.P. McGee, commanding general of the division, said in a Fort Campbell Courier story.
Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and other military units are also on heightened alert, Pentagon press secretary John Kelly said in a briefing. The Pentagon alert is for roughly 8,500 service members. Officials have not specified how many soldiers from Fort Campbell are on alert or what roles they would have in a NATO response.
“These units, all told, include medical support, aviation support, logistics support, and of course, combat formations,” Kirby said. “I want to just underscore one other note. … these forces are on a heightened preparedness to deploy. They have not been activated.”
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
