FORT BLISS — The Army's largest air-defense brigade has been in one of its busiest phases since 2008, so it's only fitting that it is getting ready for another deployment.
About 75 soldiers from the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade's headquarters are getting ready to deploy to Qatar in the Middle East. There, they will serve as the headquarters element and will oversee three Patriot battalions consisting of about 2,000 soldiers spread over five Middle Eastern countries, said Col. Alan A. Wiernicki, the 11th's commander.
"It's an important mission," Wiernicki said. "It's something we've been doing a long time and we are very confident in our ability to do it well."
Last week, the Imperial Brigade cased its colors signifying its upcoming deployment. All soldiers who are deploying to Qatar are expected to be there by the end of the month, brigade officials said.
The 11th is the Army's largest air-defense brigade with about 3,000 soldiers. About a third are already deployed.
The brigade's 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment has more than 500 soldiers deployed to Qatar and Bahrain, and another 300 soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment are deployed in Turkey. A THAAD battery of about 100 soldiers — Alpha Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (THAAD) — are deployed in Guam and will be replaced by sister battery, Delta-2, in the spring.
Air-defense soldiers are deployed all over the world because of the high demand for their capabilities, Wiernicki said.
"In this brigade, we are in three different combatant commands — Europe, Pacific and Central (the Middle East)," he said.
In this latest deployment, the brigade headquarters will be overseeing air-defense soldiers deployed in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. One of the battalions the brigade headquarters will oversee is its own 2-43.
Their presence serves several purposes on a strategic, tactical and political level, too.
"In terms of active defense, should enemy missiles start flying, we are there to defend against them," Wiernicki said. "That is the tactical piece. On the strategic level, it allows us to build partnerships. It shows a sign of commitment on behalf of the United States to foreign partners and allows us to have an initial foothold if we have to go to war."
While in Qatar, the brigade will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its first deployment in its modern era as a Patriot unit, Wiernicki said. In August 1990, soldiers from the Imperial Brigade arrived in the Middle East to serve in what became the Gulf War.
That anniversary will have special meaning since they will be deployed when the milestone happens, Wiernicki said.
Maj. Brian Campbell, operations officer for the brigade, said they will be doing "extremely important work."
"We're defending our coalition partners and defending our soldiers who are deployed doing the nation's work over there," Campbell said. "It's a big deal."
The proliferation of relatively inexpensive ballistic missiles means that the demand for air defense keeps increasing, Campbell said.
"It's a dangerous world," Campbell said. "That's why we are there — to try to stabilize the region and maintain our presence and defend."
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