Latest news with #1stArmoredBrigadeCombatTeam
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
The Army wants more drones, electronic warfare tech. This unit is the guinea pig.
The 3rd Infantry Division is testing new formations where soldiers are part of specialized teams that focus on using a certain kind of drone technology or specific electronic warfare threat. The concept is being developed as the Army shifts its focus to fighting conventional wars in the 21st century. As the service changes the way it organizes its forces and prepares for the next big conflict, several units have been hand-selected as part of the service's Transforming in Contact initiative, including the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team. Started by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in 2024, the plan centers around quickly fielding new tech to soldiers so they can give feedback on how it's best used, before they're in a situation where they have to rely on it. After testing some of the concepts at home-based training centers, the 3rd Infantry Division is bringing new units to a field exercise where they will train alongside NATO allies at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, this month and next. The division's commander, Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, told reporters on a call Tuesday that drones, or unmanned aerial systems, UAS, are a threat to all of the Army's formations and weapons. 'What we believe is that the right lesson to learn as we look around the world is the importance of conducting combined arms operations altogether. It's not just tanks, it's not just infantry, it's not just aviation or artillery, but it's all of those things working together,' Norrie said. 'Being able to do that as a combined arms team at scale and at night, we believe in our souls that that's how we win.' The goal is to get drones and UAS 'down to every section within that brigade,' meaning that soldiers in all squads and platoons will have some knowledge of how to operate and use them in battle, Donovan Blatherwick, innovation chief for the 3rd Infantry Division, told Task & Purpose. Just how much drone expertise each soldier in a platoon will be expected to have is still being worked out, he added. As part of its emphasis on drones, the division is testing UAS-focused teams of soldiers within its cavalry squadron, like platoons who specialize in using anti-tank systems, first-person viewer attack, FPV, drones or sensing enemy drones. While cavalry squadrons historically had 'guys on the ground' going to a vantage point to do reconnaissance for their unit, now the Army is looking to drone operators to increase the distances they can see and collect intelligence on, said Capt. Gabriel Velazquez, a spokesperson for the division. Blatherwick said the idea is to improve reconnaissance at the unit level. 'They're not having to send up a request to collect intel or pictures on a certain site. Everybody really within the brigade can kind of just do it themselves on their own,' he said. For its UAS dismounted team, Armstrong said they've used them successfully in exercises in Germany with 'complex terrain' — a scenario that poses an issue for armored brigades that might struggle with 'limited lines of sight.' But with these dismounted UAS teams helping with reconnaissance, their electronic warfare platoons can get 'closer to the enemy and in a better position to use their UAS to help us make contact with unmanned systems first,' Armstrong added. In the same way that drones are becoming central to modern-day wars, the division is expanding its use of electronic warfare with a second electronic warfare platoon instead of one. At a recent National Training Center exercise at Fort Irwin, California, soldiers used a deception command post as a decoy. To do so, the soldiers thought about where they thought 'the enemy was gonna look for a command post,' Armstrong said. 'We put a physical signature there and then we played back our electronic signature there and put our actual command post somewhere else,' he said. 'That had them expose their weapon systems, which gave us an opportunity to attack them instead of us having to displace our command post.' The division is also testing a brand new formation of just over 100 soldiers called a multi-effects company 'to integrate what we deemed kind of the four most important technology categories,' Blatherwick said. Within this company, they're experimenting with platoons that are each focused on electronic warfare, UAS, counter-UAS, and loitering munitions. Blatherwick said this company is the armor team's version of the multi-functional reconnaissance team concept that was developed for mobile brigade combat teams in phase one of Transforming in Contact. The multi-functional reconnaissance teams are made up of three 'hunter-killer' platoons focused on drones, electronic warfare, and robotics and autonomous systems. 'Armor moves a lot faster than [mobile brigade combat teams] do and cover a lot more ground so the difference with our [multi-effects company] is that it's looking a lot deeper. It's got the ability to sense a lot deeper and then put fires a lot deeper than what we previously had before,' Blatherwick said. 'Really it's the ability to touch the enemy a lot sooner.' The first phase of the Army's Transforming in Contact plan fielded new equipment to soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team. After training with the new tech in exercises at home and abroad, 101st Airborne soldiers now fly drones with 3D printed parts and 10th Mountain soldiers use commercially available UAS like Skydio X2D that they can carry in their rucksack and use for reconnaissance in the field. In the same way that the first phase taught a mobile brigade combat team to assemble on the battlefield with lighter and smaller formations, the armored brigade combat team is learning that they might also have to slim down their presence. For instance, the 101st Mobile Brigade Combat Team created smaller command posts made up of four Humvees and a tent. For armored brigades, those command posts might look like four Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles, AMPVs, and a tent, officials said. The second phase of Transforming in Contact includes the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team and 2nd Cavalry Regiment from Rose Barracks, Vilseck, Germany. Officials then plan to expand the concept to two divisions, two Stryker brigade combat teams, members of the National Guard and two armored brigade combat teams. For the 3rd Infantry Division, that includes its 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, a unit made up of 1,250 vehicles, 87 tanks, 125 Bradleys, 18 Paladins, and consumes more than 31,000 tons of ammunition in one day of combat, according to stats provided by officials with the division. 'It's the equivalent of having in the National Football League an offensive lineman who's 6'9, weighs 435 pounds, and can run a 40-yard dash in 3.5 seconds. These are big athletes that get up the field to break the will of an adversary determined to beat us here,' Norrie said. While the threat of drones is very real to soldiers, Col. Jim Armstrong, commander of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, described a recent exercise at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, where drones were used to give them the upper hand. As the unit's lead battalion began closing in on a town that they planned to seize, soldiers flew a drone overhead to get a better idea of what they were walking into. 'Before that assault force company commander went into that town, he knew where every single enemy element was in the town before going in and making contact, trying to develop the situation while soldiers were in harm's way,' Armstrong said. 'We were committing our crude assets only at a time and place of our choosing and when it was to our advantage.' Army to eliminate 2 Security Force Assistance Brigades, reassign experienced soldiers Why the Army's new XM7 rifle reignited a debate over volume of fire Air Force delay on separation and retirement orders isn't 'stop loss,' defense official says F-35's close call over Yemen raises questions about how it's used An Army unit's 'extreme use of profanity' was so bad, they made a rule about it
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Army announces latest unit rotations, including soldiers from Lithuania heading home
The Army announced the latest rotation of units in Europe and the Middle East, including the return of a combat team that lost three of its soldiers in a Lithuanian training accident last month. The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division from Fort Cavazos, Texas will replace the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia. During the 3rd Infantry Division's training in Lithuania, three soldiers were killed in an accident in March after their vehicle drove into a deep pond. Their disappearance prompted a week-long search of a local swamp with help brought in by the Lithuanian military. During their deployment, soldiers from 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were deployed to several eastern and central European countries, including Poland, Estonia and Lithuania. The swapping of units are part of regular rotations of roughly 6,000 American forces deployed to locations across Poland and the Baltic states. As part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, soldiers head to Europe for nine months at a time and join multinational training events with regional U.S. Allies like Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, approximately 3,500 soldiers, recently wrapped a stint at the national training center to prepare for the deployment, a 1st Cavalry Division spokesperson told Task & Purpose. Additionally, soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division based out of Fort Riley, Kansas are also headed to Europe this summer. Like the soldiers from 1st Cavalry Division, these soldiers completed a rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California in February to prepare for the upcoming deployment. They are replacing 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division soldiers based out of Fort Bliss, Texas who headed to Poland last December and joined exercises across Eastern Europe. The 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division will head to the Middle East to support ongoing operations against the Islamic State group. The region saw more action over the last month when the U.S. stepped up attacks against Houthi rebels in Yemen after a three-month hiatus. In the year prior, soldiers assigned to Central Command were fighting a two-front war against both the Islamic State group and Iranian proxies launching drones and rockets from Iraq and Syria. The attacks on U.S. forces were prompted by Israel's war against Hamas, U.S. officials said. The ongoing attacks were mostly thwarted with the exception of a Jan. 28 drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. soldiers. The 4ID soldiers will replace the 101st Airborne Division Combat Aviation Brigade. Nearly 2,000 air assault soldiers from the 101st brigade deployed to the Middle East in February after a year's worth of training for long-range, large-scale air assault operations, including nighttime missions. While in the Middle East they flew heavily around Erbil, Iraq. Navy fires commanding officer, command master chief of expeditionary security squadron The Marine Corps has settled the debate over the size of a rifle squad Leg day: Army cuts down on number of paid parachutists Navy commissions its newest submarine, the USS Iowa Why veterans are the real target audience for 'Helldivers 2'
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Yahoo
Funeral held for fallen U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jose Dueñez, Jr. of Joliet
CREST HILL, Ill. (WGN) – Community members, friends, and strangers lined the streets Friday to salute a fallen hero as a procession made its way to the Word of Life Church in Crest Hill. Four service members were killed during a training exercise in Lithuania, including Army Staff Sergeant (SSG) Jose Dueñez Jr., 25, of Joliet, in late March. The youngest of six siblings, Dueñez Jr. also leaves behind his wife and 1-year-old son. Earlier this week, the soldier's body arrived home on American soil, where his family, friends, and community prepared to say their final goodbyes. On Friday, they shared their memories and messages of gratitude during a funeral service. 'We're devastated. A piece of our family is gone. Probably one of the best pieces of our family is gone,' Eva Jasso said. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Procession carries body of soldier killed in Lithuania home to Joliet Dueñez Jr. served his country proudly for more than seven years. His family said he deployed overseas three times, including to Poland in 2019, Germany in 2022, and most recently, Lithuania in 2025. Duenez arrived in Lithuania in January with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, according to the U.S. Army. His family received word that he and three other soldiers had disappeared during a tactical training exercise in late March. A nearly weeklong recovery mission was conducted by hundreds of soldiers, Navy divers, and U.S. allies to look for the four servicemen. Their armored vehicle was found submerged in about 15 feet of water in a muddy peat bog near the border of Belarus. 'It would seem that the bank of a lake collapsed. You know, the weight is so big. It was at night. It was very cold weather, ice, a lot of ice,' President Donald Trump previously said. The other three soldiers killed in the training exercise were identified as Sgt. Edvin Franco, 25, of Glendale, California, Pfc. Dante Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam, and Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigan. 'There is some measure of peace that can be taken in the knowledge that Jose was not alone in his final moments,' Karen 'Kaii' Dueñez said. Duenez Jr.'s wife said her husband was all about teamwork, comradery, and loyalty to his loved ones, including his brothers in arms. After graduating high school, he joined the Army in 2017 and rose through the ranks, promoted five times during his years of service. 'Jose accomplished so many things in such a short period of time, but his greatest source of pride was undoubtedly his beautiful baby boy, who would carry his name,' Dueñez said. Last US soldier found dead after Lithuania training accident. 3 others identified Loved ones of the fallen soldier said he loved to do many things, including watching anime, collecting Japanese literature, and going fishing. Those around him said the love he had for his family was immeasurable. 'Jose was and still is the greatest fisherman I've ever known, but his greatest catch in life, was his wife,' Joe Grieshaber, one of Dueñez Jr.'s best friends, said. As family and loved ones of Dueñez Jr. navigate what comes next, a GoFundMe has been created to help support his wife and son. Those behind the fundraiser said the 25-year-old always went out of his way to help others in need, so they want to pay it forward. Joliet Township High School District 204 shared a statement on the passing of Dueñez Jr. on Facebook: 'With heavy hearts, JTHS extends our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Staff Sergeant Jose Dueñez Jr., who is being laid to rest today. A proud 2017 graduate of Joliet Central High School, SSG Dueñez tragically lost his life on March 25, 2025, during a U.S. Army training accident while deployed in Lithuania. He was one of four brave soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. SSG Dueñez is survived by his wife, Kai, and their 1-year-old son. His courage, dedication, and selflessness will never be forgotten. We are forever grateful for his service and the legacy he leaves behind. Once a Steelmen, always a Steelmen — you will remain in our hearts always.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Army Staff Sgt. Jose Dueñez Jr. funeral: Community mourns fallen U.S. soldier
The Brief The Joliet community honored Army Staff Sgt. Jose Dueñez Jr. with a funeral service Friday morning at Word of Life Church in Crest Hill. Dueñez, 25, died during a mission in Lithuania last month alongside three fellow soldiers when their vehicle was found submerged in a marsh. A procession earlier this week brought his body home, where family, friends, and residents gathered to pay their respects. CREST HILL, Ill. - People gathered Friday morning to say a final goodbye to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jose Dueñez Jr., a local soldier who died during a mission in Lithuania last month. The backstory Dueñez, 25, was one of four American soldiers killed on March 25 while conducting a recovery operation involving an M88A2 Hercules armored vehicle. The vehicle was later found submerged in a peat bog near Pabradė, Lithuania. Dueñez was assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. The funeral service took place at 11 a.m. at Word of Life Church, 1500 Cedarwood Drive in Crest Hill. The service follows an emotional return earlier this week, when Dueñez's flag-draped casket arrived at Lewis University Airport in Romeoville and was escorted by a police-led procession to Tezak's Funeral Home in Joliet. Loved ones and community members lined the streets, many waving American flags and holding signs, as the procession passed. Dueñez, remembered as a dedicated soldier and quiet leader, served in the Army for more than seven years and was previously deployed to Poland and Germany. He leaves behind a wife, a 1-year-old son, his parents, and five siblings. "As both a leader and a Soldier, he set an example every day—always the first to arrive and the last to leave, greeting every challenge with a smile and a readiness to support anyone who required assistance," said Capt. Madyson K. Wellens, Diesel Forward Support Troop commander, 5th Sqn., 7th Cav. Regt. "He was the definition of a silent professional." Duenez, a Joliet native, would have celebrated his 26th birthday on April 8. The Source The information in this report comes from Tezak's Home to Celebrate Life and previous FOX 32 reporting.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
'He set an example every day': Body of fallen soldier returns home to Joliet
JOLIET, Ill. - The return of a fallen U.S. soldier who hails from Joliet made for an emotional day on Tuesday, as his family gathered at Lewis University Airport to welcome him home. Army Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr. was one of four service members who died in Lithuania following a training mission last month. Community members—overseas and here at home—are now paying tribute to the young soldiers. What we know Duenez was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart in Georgia. The Joliet native deployed to Poland in 2021 and Germany in 2022. Most recently, he was serving in Lithuania as a member of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team. Duenez and three other U.S. soldiers went missing on March 25 while conducting a recovery mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle. At the time, they were operating an M88A2 Hercules. Days later, their bodies were discovered inside their sunken armored vehicle, which was located in a peat bog near Pabradė, Lithuania. "Sgt. Jose Duenez will always hold a special place in our hearts. As both a leader and a Soldier, he set an example every day—always the first to arrive and the last to leave, greeting every challenge with a smile and a readiness to support anyone who required assistance," said Capt. Madyson K. Wellens, Diesel Forward Support Troop commander, 5th Sqn., 7th Cav. Regt. "He was the definition of a silent professional." Along with Duenez, the deceased soldiers have been identified as Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, California; Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam; and Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigan. "This loss is simply devastating," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie of the 3rd Infantry Division in a press release. "These men were honored Soldiers of the Marne Division. We are wrapping our arms around the families and loved ones of our Soldiers during incredibly difficult time." In their honor, thousands of people recently lined the streets of Lithuania's capital city, Vilnius, as their bodies were transported to the airport to be flown back to the United States. Here at home, Gov. JB Pritzker has ordered all entities covered by the Illinois Flag Display Act to fly flags at half-staff in honor and remembrance of Duenez until sunset on Thursday, April 17. Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy is encouraging all residents to take part, too. "Joliet is a small, big town, and when one family grieves, we all grieve," D'Arcy said. "He was a son, he was a brother, he was a husband, he was a father, and he was a soldier." Around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Duenez's body arrived at Lewis University Airport in Romeoville, where his family was waiting on the airfield. His American flag-draped casket was surrounded by loved ones before it was transferred to a hearse. Led by local police officers, a procession then carried his body Tezak's Funeral Home to Celebrate Life in Joliet. Community members holding American flags stood across from the airfield to show their support. "Heartache, a lot of heartache," said Dolores Garcia, community member. "It's our soldier, he's from our country." "We all worry about these young kids," said Silvia Gaona-Padilla, another community member who shares that her son is the same age as Duenez. "Most of them, they all know each other because they play against each other or go to the same high school or grammar school, so they all get to know each other somehow along the way." Duenez would have turned 26 years old on April 8. He served in the U.S. Army for more than seven years and was most recently an M1 Abrams Tank System Maintainer. He is one of six siblings and also leaves behind his parents, his wife and their young son. What's next Duenez's visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday at Tezak's Funeral Home, located at 1211 Plainfield Road in Joliet. His funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday at Word of Life Church, located at 1500 Cedarwood Drive in Crest Hill. There will be brief visitation preceding the service, beginning at 10 a.m. The Source FOX 32's Kasey Chronis reported on this story.
