WACO, Texas — Fort Hood III Corps service members will be assisting task forces at Fort McCoy and Fort Bliss with temporary housing and other support for Afghans arriving as refugees.
The Department of Defense approved a request for assistance, and approximately 1,022 service members from Fort Hood and Fort Bliss in Texas, along with members in Fort Carson, Colo.; Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; and Fort Riley, Kan. will be helping with housing, medical, logistics, and transportation support.
“When our nation calls, III Corps and Fort Hood answer with action; our troops remain ready to respond to any mission,” said Col. Myles Caggins, III Corps and Fort Hood spokesperson. “The III Corps engineers, military police, medics, and logistics soldiers — men and women — deploying to these temporary housing sites will enable the Department of State to safely and securely process the Afghan evacuees.”
The lead combatant command for this mission is U.S. Northern Command and will be providing oversight in the assistance. The lead operational command is U.S. Army North, as U.S. Northern Command's Joint Force Land Component Command.
“III Corps Soldiers first deployed to Afghanistan in January 2002 and have continually rotated in the Middle East and South Asia since; the Operation Allies Refuge mission is a challenge our troops are trained for,” said Caggins. “Helping U.S. citizens, vulnerable Afghans and other evacuees is another example of the vast capability and talent of our III Corps and Fort Hood Soldiers.”
Units deploying as of Monday, Aug. 23 include 89th Military Police Kennel, Patrol Explosive Detector Dog, 759th Military Police Battalion, 127th Military Police Company, 581st Medical Company, 61st Multi-functional Medical Battalion, 1st Medical Brigade, 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, and many other service members from the III Corps in Fort Hood, Texas.
“As part of III Corps’ ‘People First’ initiative, prior to deploying, each soldier when through a standard process for medical screening, financial preparedness, and family support services orientation,” said Caggins.
