Several weeks before the official ceremony marking the exchange of units, the Armored Brigade Combat Team – the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division will be replaced by the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the US Army’s 1st Infantry Division – Lt. Col. Jesse T. Curry visited Bolesławiec City Hall. He will command the American soldiers arriving in Bolesławiec from Fort Riley in Kansas.
Bolesławiec Mayor Piotr Roman and Lt. Col. Jesse T. Curry discussed opportunities for organizing joint initiatives during the nine-month rotation as part of the rotational presence of American troops in the region. The meeting was also attended by Lt. Col. George Mitroka, commander of the 588th Engineer Battalion, which had been stationed in Bolesławiec for the previous nine months; Deputy County Governor Tomasz Gabrysiak; and Maj. Jerzy Juchaniuk of the 23rd Silesian Artillery Regiment in Bolesławiec.
A detailed schedule of joint activities will be established after the troop deployment process is completed. “It can already be said that Bolesławiec residents will have the opportunity to celebrate this year’s Bolesławiec Star of Kindness together with the soldiers, an event traditionally held before Christmas in Bolesławiec’s Market Square,” P. Roman reports. American soldiers will be able to take part in the annual residents’ gathering, exchange Christmas greetings, sing carols together and spend time at Christmas Eve tables, which are usually laden with pierogi, borscht and other traditional holiday dishes.