U.S. Army to deploy air cavalry squadron back to S. Korea

The U.S. Army will deploy an air cavalry squadron comprised of approximately 380 soldiers and 30 OH- 58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters to South Korea next month, the Combined Forces Command (CFC) said Thursday.

The U.S. Department of the Army has approved the rotational deployment of the 4th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Oct. 1, according to the CFC. "This action supports the U.S. defense commitment to the Republic of Korea as specified by the mutual defense treaty and presidential agreements," the U.S. Army said in a release.

The squadron, which has finished a five-year mission in Iraq from 2008 to 2012, will rejoin the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade to support U.S. Forces Korea and the U.S. 8th Army, Xinhua reports.

After a five-year absence from the Korean Peninsula, the squadron's return to South Korea will bring the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade back to full strength, the CFC said.

The soldiers of the squadron will return to Joint Base Lewis- McChord after completing their nine-month rotation. The helicopters will stay in South Korea for use by follow-on rotations.

The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter is an armed reconnaissance chopper capable of carrying AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, Hydra-70 rocket pods, air-to-air Stinger missiles and an M296 12.7 mm heavy machine gun.

Seoul handed over the wartime command of its troops to Washington during the 1950-1953 Korean War, and some 28,500 U.S. troops have been stationed in the country as a legacy of the war.

South Korea in July has asked the United States to postpone the transition of wartime operational control of South Korean forces from Washington to Seoul, currently slated for Dec. 1, 2015.