The 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade likely will be deactivated up to two years earlier than previously announced.
The movement of units and equipment will start next summer, Brig. Gen. John Hort, 3rd ID commanding general-rear, said Tuesday.
“And by January ’15, we believe, based on the current timeline, we will inactivate the 2nd Brigade,” he said.
He qualified the statement some, saying the start of 2015 is the middle of a window during which the unit will be disbanded.
Hort was speaking at what was supposed to be a meeting of the Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield Growth Management Partnership. A quorum did not attend the meeting, but those present asked that Hort make his presentation.
In June, the Pentagon announced the largest organizational change for the Army since World War II, cutting troop strength from 570,000 to 490,000 and the number of brigade combat teams from 45 to 33. All that was to be done by 2017.
Hort, however, said he understands the plan is being accelerated Army-wide to assure the remaining troops have the resources to train as much as possible under budget constraints.
A brigade normally has 3,000-3,500 soldiers. Because of the restructuring of remaining brigades and addition of other units to Fort Stewart, the troop loss here is expected to be around 1,400.

See more in the Aug. 24 edition of the News.