Maine National Guard Deploying To Europe This Spring
By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: February 6, 2022 12:00AM UTC
Last Modified: February 6, 2022 12:00AM UTC
MAINE - Around 80 members of the Maine National Guard is set to be deployed to Eastern Europe in the Spring for a one year deployment to Poland.
120th Regional Support Group will be one of two brigade units in Maine that will be carrying out base support operations for American allies in Europe for 'Operation Atlantic Resolve' under the United States European Command.
Operation Atlantic Resolve is a 'deterrent initiative' with multinational training events in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.
American Military News agency reported that Major Carl Lamb who is a National Guard spokesman stated in an email that "while Atlantic Resolve clearly exists as a deterring factor, it has been an ongoing mission since 2014 and our participation in the exercise is separate from other news that has come out of the Department of Defense recently".
An Operation Atlantic Resolve statement says that its mission is to "build readiness, increase interoperability and enhance bonds between ally and partner militaries with multi-national training events.".
Brigadier General Dean Preston stated "Maine soldiers continue to support U.S. strategic interests around the world alongside our active duty counterparts".
Lieutenant Colonel Amy Cartmell who is deputy commander of the 120th Regional Support Group put out a statement saying that the unit has been training hard and ready to carry out the mission.
"Our team has been training hard. We have gleaned a wealth of knowledge from the experiences of previously assigned units — to include our own, the 286th — combined with staff analysis of the mission requirements. We strive to be students of current events in Poland and other partner nations and look forward to learning more about and interacting with their cultures and communities".
