Fort Carson's 4th Infantry Division will lead an American effort to bolster European allies and deter Russian aggression, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

The post just got a team of soldiers back from Germany where they led a NATO exercise, but the new mission is wider and will last longer.

"This is not going to be a three-week or a month deployment," said a source at the post familiar with the new mission.

The Army hasn't said how long the division troops will be overseas, leaving the deployment indefinite.

U.S. European Command said that a 100-soldier team from the 16,000-soldier division will head to Europe in early 2015 to lead ground forces in "Operation Atlantic 
Resolve."

"Operation Atlantic Resolve is a continued demonstration of the United States' commitment to the collective security of our NATO allies and support for our partners in Europe, in light of the ongoing 
Russian intervention in Ukraine," European Command said in a news release. "The operation will remain in place as long as required to reassure our allies."

Russia's eight-month intervention in Eastern Ukraine has heated up this month with reports of increased Russian military activity including more heavy tanks.

European Command boss Gen. Phil Breedlove has been traveling the region in recent days, including a trip to show support for Ukraine.

"The U.S. is committed to supporting Ukraine through this difficult challenge," Breedlove wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. "The international community is imposing ever-tightening economic sanctions on Russia in response to its illegal annexation of Crimea and their destructive military actions and support to forces in Eastern Ukraine."

The Fort Carson soldiers will play a role in deterring Russia by building U.S. ties to allies in the region including former Soviet republics in the Baltic.

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Leaders from the division will run a series of training exercises to ensure American forces are ready to fight alongside partners.

Leaders at the post are still developing plans for how they will support the open-ended troop commitment in Europe. Exact dates of when soldiers will leave haven't been announced.

Fort Carson got the call as part of the Army's new "regionally-aligned forces" plan. That concept assigns U.S.-based units to overseas areas of responsibility. In the division's case, troops in Colorado Springs will get specialized training in European languages and culture.

The Army hasn't had a division headquarters stationed in Europe since the 1st Armored Division finished its move from Germany to Texas in 2011.

Pulling the 4th Infantry Division to rotate into Europe has long precedent. The division spent much of the Cold War training to deploy to Europe for battle. Starting in 1977, the division was periodically flown to Europe so its soldiers could train to fight with prepositioned gear they retrieved from storage depots.

The division has been redesigned in recent years and has fewer heavy tanks and artillery pieces.

The changes, though, left the division well-suited to European war, with infantry troops to tackle tough terrain, tanks to fight on open plains and eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles for urban battles.

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Contact Tom Roeder: 636-0240