NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 |
| October 4, 2004 Release Number: 04-10-08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1ST CAV'S BLACK JACK BRIGADE TO COMPLETE YEARLONG ROTATION 1st Cav's Black Jack Brigade to Complete Yearlong Rotation BAGHDAD, Iraq - The 1st Cavalry Division announced today that the rotation schedule of its 2nd Brigade "Black Jack" Combat Team has shifted into 2005 . "The brigade will not redeploy early," said division spokesman, Lt. Col James Hutton. "One plan had called for the brigade to complete redeployment by December. The plan now is for the brigade to complete a one-year tour." The brigade is now expected to rotate back to their central Texas home beginning in January 2005. The Black Jack brigade deployed to Iraq in January 2004. The new schedule puts the unit on a 365-day deployment rotation, in line with the rest of the 1st Cavalry Division. "We knew when we left Fort Hood that our mission here could keep us here 12-to-14 months," said the division's top enlisted member, Command Sgt. Maj. Neil Ciotola, who deployed to Iraq as the Black Jack Brigade's command sergeant major. "Those Soldiers understand this, but I know that it can be hard on families back home anxiously awaiting their return." -30- |
