Army Lt. Col. Eric Ackles, commander of 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, speaks at the unit’s reactivation ceremony Oct. 4, 2023, at Katterbach Kaserne in Ansbach Germany. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

ANSBACH, Germany — A U.S. Army unit that traces its beginnings to the world war that brought down the Russian Empire was reactivated Wednesday to help Europe deal with a contemporary war of Russian aggression on its doorstep.

The 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment will be based in this Bavarian city and support ground forces with short-range air defense.

It will initially work with the Avenger system, which uses surface-to-air missiles to shoot down threats posed by planes, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles.

American air defense teams were rushed into countries on NATO’s eastern flank following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 amid fears of a potential spillover.

At a NATO summit in Madrid a few months later, President Joe Biden announced the creation of , based in Sembach, to provide command andcontrol for all Army air and missile defense forces in Europe. He also announced that the 1st Battalion would reactivate.

The work of the unit’s soldiers is sure to hold the attention of American adversaries, Col. Bruce Bredlow, commander of the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, said at a reactivation ceremony Wednesday.

“The capability that you are building will confuse their calculus and will keep them up at night,” Bredlow said.

The battalion is one of three that now fall under Bredlow’s brigade.

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