Virginia National Guard Winds Down Poland Mission

RICHMOND, Va. - Approximately 40 Soldiers assigned to the Virginia National Guard's 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group, returned to the United States Nov. 19 after serving federal active duty in Poland since January.

The Soldiers will conduct administrative tasks at their demobilization station of Fort Cavazos, Texas, to transition to traditional National Guard status before returning to Virginia.

About 20 529th Soldiers already returned home, and a small contingent of Soldiers are conducting transportation support in Poland and will return later this month.

Brig. Gen. Charles B. Martin, commander of the Virginia Army National Guard, Col. Juanita F. Rohler and Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph R. Viera, the 329th RSG command team, and Col. Gregory J. Geiger, commander of the Mobilization Support Brigade, greeted the Soldiers and thanked them for their service. The 329th command team also presented challenge coins to select Soldiers for outstanding duty performance.

The 529th conducted a transfer of authority ceremony with the Georgia National Guard's 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion Nov. 6 in Zagan Palace in Zagan, Poland.

"Task Force Cavalier, the day has finally arrived for us to hand over this mission," said Lt. Col. Carlos Maldonado, commander of TF Cavalier at the ceremony. "While January 28, the day we left Virginia, seems like a lifetime ago, it also feels like time flew by. I cannot express how grateful I am to you for making this an absolute success for the 529th as we continue to add to the history of our unit and the Virginia National Guard on NATO's Eastern Flank."

In March, the 529th took responsibility for logistics, maintenance, and supply missions based at Forward Operating Site Karliki, Poland, and acted as the headquarters element for Task Force Cavalier. They oversaw operations and training for more than 550 Soldiers from four subordinate units from active-duty Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard.

"You showed tremendous resiliency," Maldonado said. "You overcame and absolutely crushed the mission. Through it all, Cavalier, you persevered."

Maldonado said TF Cavalier conducted 261 missions covering more than 260,000 miles, which he said is roughly one round trip to the moon. The task force moved 316 20-foot containers of ammunition, and he said if those were stacked end to end, they would stretch the length of three football fields. They also transported 227,000 gallons of fuel, which he said is enough to power a standard car for about 6.8 million miles or enough to drive around Earth 270 times.

Conducting the ceremony at Zagan Palace symbolized the TF Cavalier commitment to community involvement during their deployment.

"I am especially proud of our community engagements, conducting visits to schools, orphanages and participating in local events and festivals," Maldonado said. "TF Cavalier took our role as a part of the Zagan community seriously and enjoyed interacting with the Polish people and Polish Army, who were always respectful, kind and helpful. I am especially proud of TF Cavalier supporting flood response operations in September, further cementing the trust and friendship that we have built with the town of Zagan."

In addition to the 529th CSSB Headquarters, TF Cavalier included active U.S. Army transportation and ordnance companies, a transportation company from the U.S. Army Reserve and a transportation company from the Missouri National Guard.