BAGHDAD (September 20, 2015) – As the Panther Brigade furled their colors, officially marking the completion of their mission in Iraq, the Warrior Brigade unfurled theirs.
Task Force Warrior, comprised of Soldiers from the Fort Drum, New York-based 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), officially joined the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command – Iraq Advise and Assist and Build Partner Capacity missions, in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, in Baghdad Sept. 17, 2015.
The task force joins eighteen partner nations supporting Iraqi security forces at six Advise and Assist sites and five Build Partner Capacity sites around the country.
At the event, Col. Scott Naumann, commander of the 1st BCT, and the soldiers under his command, officially accepted responsibility of the mission from Col. Curtis Buzzard, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
The Panther Brigade deployed from Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, nine months ago in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
Buzzard and the paratroopers of the 3rd Brigade supported Iraqi security forces as they simultaneously conducted multiple operations, including support for planning, operations, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and logistics.
“As I look back on our mission, I am enormously proud of our effort in reestablishing our presence in Iraq and the results we achieved working by, with, and through our Iraqi counterparts,” said Buzzard. “I wish the best of luck to 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain – The Mountain Warriors. They are a first class organization with a great command team that will take this mission to the next level.”
Task Force Warrior started training for this deployment in January, both at Ft. Drum and at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. They began arriving in Iraq in late August.
“Specially selected and thoroughly trained to advise and assist our Iraqi partners, the men and women of the Warrior Brigade have once again answered their nation’s call to fight a brutal enemy, through harsh conditions in a far off land,” Naumann said. “(The Warrior Brigade) forms a force totally committed to supporting our Iraqi comrades in arms as we partner together ultimately seek peace.”
“We are grateful to the men and women of the Panther Brigade who professionally transitioned this mission to us with the characteristic expertise indicative of Paratroopers.”
The Warriors’ deployment is scheduled for nine months.