4th Combat Aviation Brigade; Eindhoven, February 4 – 11, 2019

The Ivy Eagle Division from Colorado; Text and Photograph's by Alex van Noye

After a deployment of almost nine months in Europe , the 4th Infantry Division of the United States Army withdraws to the United States. The unit has operated in Eastern Europe in the context of Operation Atlantic Resolve. During this operation, the American military supports the European units at the European borders.

The 4th Infantry Division is an infantry division of the United States Army and is based in Fort Carson in the state of Colorado. Fort Carson has traditionally been a mountain post of the army located southwest of Colorado Springs. Fort Carson is recognized as one of the world's most important locations to lead, train and maintain soldiers while preparing for deployment on the battlefield. Fort Carson was founded in 1942, after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The city of Colorado Springs bought the land south of the city and donated it to the War Department. Fort Carson was named after the legendary army scout, General Christopher "Kit" Carson, who in the 1800s explored much of the West of the United States. Next to Fort Carson also the well-known NORAD can be found that monitors the sky above the north of the United States. The 4th Infantry Division consists of a headquarters and headquarters battalion, three Brigade Combat Team’s (1st Stryker BCT, 2nd Infantry BCT and 3rd Armored BCT), a Combat Aviation Brigade, the 4th Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade and a Division Artillery. The official nickname of the 4th Infantry Division is "Ivy Eagles". This name is a play on the Roman numeral IV or 4. The ivy leaves symbolize tenacity and loyalty of the soldiers of the division. The division's motto is "Steadfast and Loyal". The second nickname of the Ivy Eagle Division is "Iron Horse". This name has been adopted to underline the speed and power of the division and its soldiers.

The part of the 4th Infantry Division which is equipped with helicopters is the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade (4 CAB). The 4 CAB helicopters operate from Butts Army Airfield in Colorado. The 4 Cab is made up of a number of Battalions which are equipped with different types of helicopters. The first battalion is the 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion (2-4th AVN (GSAB)) and has the name "Mustangs". The 1-4th AVN was abolished a few years ago and therefore no longer exists. The 2-4th AVN consists of three companies, namely; Command Aviation Company Alpha

(A/2-4th AVN (CMD)) which is equipped with the UH-60L Blackhawk, Heavy Helicopter Company Bravo (B/2-4th AVN (HH)) which flies with the CH-47F Chinook and finally the Air Ambulance Company Charlie (C/2-4th AVN (AA)) which flies with the UH-60L and the HH-60L Blackhawk. The second battalion is the 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion (3-4th AVN (AHB)) "Comanches" and flies exclusively with the UH-60M Blackhawk in the companies Assault Helicopter Company Alpha, Bravo, Charlie (A/B/C/3-4th AVN (ASLT)). The third battalion of the 4 CAB is the 4th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (4-4th AVN (ARB)) "Raiders". The three companies under this battalion are Attack Reconnaissance Company Alpha, Bravo, Charlie (A/B/C/4-4th AVN (AR)). These three units are equipped with the Boeing AH-64D Apache combat helicopter. Finally, there is also a connection unit assigned to the 4 CAB, namely the 7th General Support Aviation Battalion which flies the CH-47F and the HH-60M. There is also a Cavalry unit assigned to the 4 CAB that flies the AH-64D Apache, namely the 6th Attack Reconnaissance Squadron of the 17th Cavalry Regiment.

During Operation Atlantic Resolve, both the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade and 4th Infantry Division operated from Germany. The units are mainly based in southern Germany not far from the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic. When the unit began this deployment in 2018, they took over 1,700 soldiers from the United States. In total, the 4 CAB had 88 helicopters in Europe during this deployment. These helicopters, are; 52x UH-60 and HH-60 Black Hawks, 12x CH-47 Chinooks and 24x AH-64 Apaches. In addition to these helicopters, another 4,000 materials and ground equipment were also taken by the 4 CAB. During the deployment, the units would always carry out expeditionary operations in neighboring countries from their point of departure in Germany. These temporary deployments were mainly aimed at Poland, the Baltic States, Romania and Bulgaria. The main objective of the entire Operation Atlantic Resolve is to participate in major exercises in these partner countries. With this, one can show in the border regions of Europe that American aid is very strong in Europe. The American units mainly want to show Russia that Europe and the United States together are very strong. The units of the 4 CAB are also trained to the maximum in cooperation with other units from Europe with which people do not normally train much together. This greatly increases interoperability between countries.

During the withdrawal from Europe, the majority of the 4 CAB would leave Europe via the port of Rotterdam. A total of 48 helicopters would fly to the port of Rotterdam. These helicopters came from various German airfields such as Ansbach and Wiesbaden. The helicopters made a stopover at Eindhoven Air Base for the last part of the ferry. From Eindhoven the helicopters would fly to Rotterdam every time on demand. The terrain in Rotterdam is not too large, therefore not all helicopters could fly there at the same time. All helicopters are dismantled for transport in the port in the Botlek area. The American transport ship Endurance will take all helicopters and also the vehicles which were brought by train to Rotterdam back to the United States. In total, the logistical campaign involves more than 48 helicopters and around 1100 vehicles which need to be relocated. The port area is a temporary military area and is therefore guarded by units of the Dutch army with a dog section. The Netherlands provides support during this entire logistical operation as part of the so-called Host Nation Support. This means that the Netherlands as a host country will support the American units in carrying out their duties by offering facilities in particular. The Americans have brought over 300 employees to the port to dismantle the army material. The helicopter units of the 4 CAB are relieved by the 1 CAB which entered the European country via the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium at the same time.