RICHMOND, Va. – Approximately 70 Soldiers assigned to the Virginia National Guard’s Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion Headquarters, 329th Regional Support Group, will enter federal active service for duty in Poland in January.
Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the adjutant general of Virginia, announced the planned deployment Oct. 18.
The unit was alerted to prepare for a possible mobilization more than a year ago and just recently received the official notification to deploy. The mobilization order is for 365 days but could be extended.
The troops will serve under the command of U.S. Army’s 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade to provide sustainment command and control and support to forward-stationed U.S. and allied forces in the region. Their mission will be part of a rotation of forces conducting multinational training and operations with allies and regional security partners to increase military interoperability, build contingency response capabilities and deter adversaries in Europe.
“Once again, the experienced logisticians of the 529th are answering the call to deploy overseas and provide world-class sustainment support to critical operations supporting the interests of the United States and our allies,” Ring said. “The 529th is one of our most deployed formations, and I have full confidence the outstanding officers, noncommissioned officers and Soldiers will meet and exceed any challenges they face and make sure all their units receive the support they need to accomplish their mission.”
A combat sustainment support battalion is a multifunctional logistics headquarters exercising mission command for assigned companies, teams and detachments to provide maintenance support and distribute food, fuel, ammunition and other vital supplies. They expect to have supply, transportation and maintenance companies under their command. Additional units could be assigned to meet mission requirements.
Soldiers of the 529th gained valuable experience for the upcoming mobilization when they supported a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation from July 6 to Aug. 6 at Fort Johnson, Louisiana. Conducted in support of the Hawaii Army National Guard’s 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the 529th was in charge of running the division support area, where they provided command and control of more than 400 National Guard Soldiers from five states providing food, water, fuel, ammunition and other supplies.
“The Soldiers of the 529th have built a strong, cohesive foundation by going through our JRTC rotation and feel ready and excited to perform this mission in Poland and continue the storied lineage of this unit,” said Lt. Col. Carlos M. Maldonado, the commander of the 529th.
This is the fourth federal active-duty deployment for the 529th since being federally recognized in 2009, with previous deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.
The 529th will conduct a departure ceremony in the Virginia Beach area in late January before the Soldiers report to Fort Cavazos, Texas, for mobilization training. They will then head to Eastern Europe.