Battle Group Poland, as part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) initiative, and 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment said goodbye to Lt. Col. Steven Gventer, former commander, and welcomed Lt. Col. Christopher L’Heureux as the new commander in a traditional change of command ceremony in Bemowo Piskie training area on July 25.
Gventer, the battle group’s first commander, led elements of the multinational unit on a tactical road march from Vilseck, Germany to the unit’s base near Orzysz, Poland in March 2017. The U.S.-led battle group, comprised of U.S., U.K. and Romanian soldiers, serve with the Polish 15th Mechanized Brigade as a deterrence force in northeast Poland in support of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence.
L’Heureux comes to Battle Group Poland and 2/2CR from his most recent assignment in Washington, D.C. where he served as a legislative liaison to the U.S. House of Representatives on Capitol Hill. Previous assignments include deployments to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan and various leadership positions with 35th Armor Regiment, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Infantry Regiment and 2nd Infantry Division.
Battle Group Poland is one of four multinational battle groups deployed as a deterrence force in the eastern part of the Alliance in support of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence initiative. The American-led battle group consists of 860 U.S. Soldiers from 2/2; 130 U.K. soldiers from A Squadron, The Light Dragoons, and 120 Romanian soldiers from 205th Air Defense Battalion, 2nd Infantry Brigade. These deployments fulfill the commitment agreed to by Allies at the 2016 NATO Summit in Warsaw. NATO’s eFP is a clear demonstration solidarity and determination to defend Allied territory against possible aggression. The deployment is defensive, proportionate, and conforms to the Article V commitment of the treaty to prevent conflict, protect our Allies, and preserve peace throughout the region.
