The 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade has been “Guarding The Skies” ever since it was constituted in the Coast Artillery Corps in 1918, and it continues to lead the way in the 21st century: For its first-ever Romanian deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, the Army turned to the Brigade’s B Battery, 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment to handle the task.
In April 2019, roughly 100 soldiers from B Battery deployed to Deveselu, Romania to implement the THAAD installation and setup, part of an upgrade to NATO’s Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense site.
Teaming with the Brigade’s Soldiers were personnel from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, stationed in Vincenza, Italy; Explosive Ordnance Disposal from 21st Theater Command in Kaiserslautern, Germany; the 51st Expeditionary Signal Battalion out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington; and civilian workers from the Missile Defense Agency and the Anniston Army Depot.
The THADD system was emplaced for approximately three months.
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69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Patch (SSI)
69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Unit Crest (DUI)