Soldiers assigned to brigades in Louisiana, Georgia and Texas have been tapped for rotations to Kuwait, Afghanistan and Europe before the end of this year.

Approximately 2,100 soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, which is stationed at Fort Polk, La., will deploy to Iraq, becoming the first brigade-sized unit to deploy under the Army’s Associated Units Pilot Program.

The program is designed to increase readiness by integrating the Army’s three components in regular collective training. As part of the program, soldiers wear each other’s unit patches, and when the 10th Mountain brigade deploys this fall, they will wear the patch of the Texas National Guard’s 36th Infantry Division, a unit they’ve been training with for 18 months.

“The significant impact we’re making as a division crosses state lines, oceans and international borders. With the enhanced integration of active and reserve components, we’re building a better and stronger team that will enable us to fight our nation’s wars,” said Maj. Gen. S. Lee Henry, commander of the 36th Infantry Division.

Two brigades from Fort Stewart, Ga.—the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade and the 3rd Sustainment Brigade—will deploy to Afghanistan on a scheduled rotation. The two 3rd Infantry Division formations will replace the 7th Infantry Division’s 16th Combat Aviation Brigade and the 1st Armored Division’s 1st Sustainment Brigade, respectively.

Some 3,500 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Bliss, Texas, will replace the 1st Cavalry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team in Kuwait as part of a regular rotation to support mission requirements under Operation Spartan Shield.

From Fort Hood, Texas, about 1,700 soldiers with the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Combat Aviation Brigade will replace the 10th Mountain Division’s 10th Combat Aviation Brigade in Europe as part of a regular rotation to support Operation Atlantic Resolve.