WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Dec. 4, 2000) -- Under a plan approved by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, the Army recently announced which active and reserve forces will see service in Bosnia and Kosovo through May 2005.

The announcement provides predictability for our soldiers and units to ensure they are given adequate time to train for the Balkans mission said Maj. Tom Artis, an Army spokesman. The rotation plan will also provide better linkages between the active and reserve forces, mitigate the effects of high operational tempo, and better sustain the Army's overall levels of readiness for contingency operations, he continued.

Under the plan, units from the active Army and reserve forces will support the Stabilization Force mission, known as SFOR, in Bosnia or the Kosovo Force, known as KFOR, for six-month periods.

Units for SFOR rotations 9 to 16 will be drawn from active Army divisions, Army National Guard divisions, the Army Reserve. Most rotations will have a mix of active/reserve units. The Army set a historical precedent earlier this year when it designated the 49th Armored Division, Texas Army National Guard, as the headquarters for active and reserve forces conducting the SFOR mission March - October 2000.

Army National Guard divisions will command six of the next eight SFOR rotations:

SFOR 9 (April 2001 - Oct. 2001): 3rd Inf. Div., Fort Stewart, Ga.

SFOR 10 (Oct. 2001 - April 2002): 29th Inf. Div., Virginia Army National Guard.

SFOR 11 (April 2002 - Oct. 2002): 25th Inf. Div, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

SFOR 12 (Oct. 2002 - April 2003): 28th Inf. Div., Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

SFOR 13 (April 2003 - Oct. 2003): 35th Inf. Div., Kansas Army National Guard.

SFOR 14 (Oct. 2003 - April 2004): 34th Inf. Div., Minnesota Army National Guard.

SFOR 15 (April 2004 - Oct. 2004): 38th Inf. Div., Indiana Army National Guard.

SFOR 16 (Oct. 2004 - April 2005): 42nd Inf. Div., New York Army National Guard.

SFOR rotations 9 to 12 will incorporate units from the Army Reserve and six of the Army National Guard's 15 enhanced separate brigades.

The brigades are higher priority combat units that would be the first called to active duty in the event of mobilization. Units from additional enhanced brigades may be slated in the future to support SFOR rotations 13 to 16. Line troops slated for Bosnia are:

SFOR 9 (April 2001 - Oct. 2001): 48th Infantry Brigade (enhanced separate brigade), Georgia Army National Guard; 39th Infantry Brigade (enhanced separate brigade), Arkansas Army National Guard.

SFOR 10 (Oct. 2001 - April 2002): 155th Armored Brigade (enhanced separate brigade), Mississippi Army National Guard. Units from the 49th Armored Division, Texas Army National Guard will also support SFOR 10.

SFOR 11 (April 2002 - Oct. 2002): 116th Cavalry Brigade (enhanced separate brigade), Idaho Army National Guard; 76th Infantry Brigade (enhanced separate brigade), Indiana Army National Guard. Units from the 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota Army National Guard, will also support SFOR 11.

SFOR 12 (Oct. 2002 - April 2003): 218th Infantry Brigade (enhanced separate brigade), South Carolina Army National Guard.

Units supporting KFOR rotations 3A to 6B, June-May 2005, will consist primarily of active-force units from the Army's III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas; V Corps, Heidelberg, Germany; and the XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.

KFOR 3A (June 2001 - Nov. 2001): 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

KFOR 3B (Nov. 2001 - May 2002): 10th Mountain Division (Light), Fort Drum, N.Y.

KFOR 4A (May 2002 - Nov. 2002): V Corps, Germany

KFOR 4B (Nov. 2002 - May 2003): V Corps

KFOR 5A (May 2003 - Nov. 2003): 4th Inf. Div., Fort Hood

KFOR 5B (Nov. 2003 - May 2004): 1st Cavalry Div., Fort Hood

KFOR 6A (May 2004 - Nov. 2004): 3rd Inf. Div., Fort Stewart

KFOR 6B (Nov. 2004 - May 2005): 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

Since 1989, the number of Army deployments has grown by over 300 percent, yet the Army's active and reserve forces have shrunk by over 40 percent.

"The missions of the post-Cold War environment, coupled with downsizing, necessitate increased use of the reserve forces," Artis said. "With approximately 54% of the Army now in the reserve forces, the Army routinely calls upon the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard to help carry out national military strategy."

Link to original news item:

http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/Dec2000/a20001204rotate01.html