The Department of Defense recently approved a request for assistance from the State Department to provide temporary housing, sustainment, and support inside the United States for vulnerable Afghans at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin; Fort Bliss, Texas; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey; and Fort Lee, Virginia.
Approximately 500 service members from the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley will provide support to Fort McCoy, Fort Lee, and JBMDL to assist in these efforts as part of the task forces located there.
The soldiers from Fort Riley will be joining service members from Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Carson, Colorado; and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri as part of III Corps’ overall mission, which was announced earlier this week.
U.S. Northern Command is the Department of Defense’s lead combatant command for this mission in the continental United States and is providing oversight in support of the Department of State. U.S. Army North, as U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Force Land Component Command, is the lead operational command for this mission.
The task forces at Fort McCoy, Fort Lee and JBMDL will provide housing, medical, logistics, and transportation support.
“When our Nation calls, The Big Red One and Fort Riley always answer with action; our troops are highly trained and ready to respond to any mission, anytime and anywhere,” said Lt. Col. Alex Tignor, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley spokesperson. “The Big Red One, military police, medical professionals, and logistics soldiers—men and women—deploying to these temporary housing sites are proud to join task forces U.S. Army North, U.S. Northern Command and the Department of Defense teams at Fort McCoy, Fort Lee and JBMDL in supporting the State Department with this mission.”