U.S. Army Col. Bruce Bredlow took the command of the U.S. Army’s newest air defense artillery brigade, 52nd ADA Brigade, in a ceremony on October 6, 2022, at Sembach Kaserne, Germany. Service members, family and friends attended the ceremony to support the first commander of the brigade. At the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, this past June, President Biden announced the U.S. Army’s newest air defense artillery brigade, the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade. The 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade adds to the expanded American military presence in Europe, which was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February and concerns of a potential spillover into NATO territory. Since the unit became a one-star command in 2019, the role of brigade headquarters has been filled on a rotational basis by Army National Guard air defense brigades from three states.
“It’s a monumental task I’m giving you Bruce, but I am confident and excited for what you and the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade will accomplish in this theater. The reason we are in Europe, in NATO, is that we really are Stronger Together, not despite our differences but because of them,” said Brig. Gen Barnett. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Maurice O. Barnett, commanding general of 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command presided over the ceremony.
“I’m very excited to be taking command of the Army’s newest air defense brigade,” said Col. Bredlow. “Our mission here in Europe is uniquely rewarding thanks to our ability to work closely with NATO on a regular basis. We’re looking forward to building new connective tissue at the tactical level with our Allies and partners and expanding our combined capacity through interoperability.”
The impact of the brigade headquarters that will provide command and control for all U.S. Army air and missile defense forces within the EUCOM area of responsibility and will report directly to the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. This increases command and control capacity at the tactical level while increasing interoperability with our NATO Allies and partner nations. 52nd ADA will assume responsibility for the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, the 11th Missile Defense Battery, the 13th Missile Defense Battery, and the future 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. Adding the active-duty brigade headquarters along with the new 1-57 short range air defense regiment to theater adds significant capacity to the U.S. contribution to the Alliance’s ground-based air defense in EUCOM.
