Lexington Herald-Leader
‘We were built for this mission.’ About 300 soldiers from Fort Knox to be deployed to Europe
Karla Ward – March 4, 2022
As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, about 300 soldiers stationed at Fort Knox are being deployed to Germany and Poland, and one of the goals of the deployment is to “deter further Russian aggression,” the Army says.
In support of the United States’ NATO allies, the Army said it is deploying the main headquarters of its Victory Corps, or V Corps, which was set up at Fort Knox in 2020. The corps already has soldiers stationed at an operational command post in Poznan, Poland.
The Army said Thursday that the additional deployment will “build readiness, improve interoperability, reinforce allies and deter further Russian aggression.”
“Victory Corps is ready and prepared to support the orders of the President, and demonstrate our commitment to our NATO allies,” V Corps’ commanding general, Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski, said in the release. “As America’s Forward Deployed Corps, we were built for this mission.”
In a separate media advisory Friday, the Army said V Corps soldiers will be ready to move out Monday, transitioning the corps’ headquarters from Fort Knox to Europe.
“The V Corps main headquarters will complement the forward headquarters located in Poland,” the advisory stated. “This will provide a more robust presence in Europe and enable the Corps to synchronize current contingency operations, support the ongoing mission to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank and coordinate multinational exercises across the continent.”
The effort is being coordinated with the governments of Germany and Poland, and once deployed, the soldiers will be under the command of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the Army said.
“Throughout our unit’s history, we have stood as guardians of peace in Europe and we once again proudly answer the nation’s call,” Kolasheski said in the release.
The V Corps was founded during World War I and served in France. In World War II, its soldiers took part in the D Day invasion and helped liberate Europe. The Army says the corps “defended Western Europe during the Cold War” and served in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.
When the Army announced in 2020 that V Corps was being reactivated with headquarters at Fort Knox, it said the corps would have about 635 soldiers, about 200 of whom would be rotating through the post in Europe.