FORT DRUM — The post’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team was one of three units identified Friday by the Department of Defense for deployment to Afghanistan, confirming months of speculation on the topic. According to a department press release, the brigade will begin its rotation this winter.

The estimated 1,500 to 2,000 soldiers deploying from the brigade will be assigned as a security force assistance brigade, advising Afghan units and training them to conduct security operations independently.

“Once again, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team Commandos will answer the nation’s call and live up to the legacy of all the great soldiers who have gone before them,” Maj. Gen. Mark A. Milley, the post and 10th Mountain Division commander, said in a statement. “I have absolute confidence in the leaders — officers and noncommissioned officers — who will be selected to participate in this mission.”

Col. Dennis S. Sullivan, commander of the 2nd Brigade, said in the post’s statement that the deployment was one of the possibilities for which members had been planning.

“The lessons learned during the combined arms live fire training during a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation, Mountain Peak exercise and future rotation to the National Training Center will prepare us to successfully accomplish this mission,” he said.

The brigade’s deployment role was first hinted at in a note from Col. Sullivan posted in early August on the brigade’s Facebook page. A full copy of the letter can be found at www.scribd.com/doc/102366637/2ndbctletter.

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