Maine National Guard battalion deploys

The 286^th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion of the Maine Army National Guard, which will be taking part in Operation Atlantic Resolve, deployed Saturday.

As part of the operation, U.S. forces have been rotating through Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. American forces train with other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members. Troops also have the mission of deterring Russian aggression.

“You know we play a role, first and foremost, as part of the United States Army,” General Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on the National Guard’s role in supporting Operation Atlantic Resolve. “We deploy into Europe and into NATO… our potential adversaries, the Russians, look across and they see a United States flag… they see a well-trained, well-equipped, ready force that can deter potential aggressive activity. Keeping [the National Guard] ready… and making sure that we assure our allies and partners that we’re there when they need us, is part of the National Defense Strategy. We have 2,000 people over there right now deployed as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve.”

Lengyel spoke at a Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing last week.