Army's V Corps forward headquarters to be in Poznan, Poland

Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army's V Corps' headquarters in Europe will be at Poznan, in western Poland, the Army announced on Wednesday.

The Fifth Corps, or V Corps, will be located at Fort Knox, Ky., with a Forward headquarters in Poland, a NATO ally, according to officials.

The reactivation of the corps, which has a storied history, came in February, with its positioning in Poland announced in August at a ceremony in Krakow.

Although Poland no longer shares a border with Russia, the forward position in Poznan, a city of about 535,000 people and a history dating to medieval times, will place U.S. troops within 200 miles of the Poland-Belarus border.

The first rotation of personnel is expected in October, with a mission to conduct operational planning, mission command and oversight of the rotational forces in Europe. It will also provide additional capability to support allies and partners in the region.

"We have a strong relationship with our Polish allies and appreciate the outstanding support they provide to our rotational soldiers," Lt. Gen. John. S. Kolasheski, V Corps commanding general, said in a press release.

"As we stand up the V Corps forward command post in Poznan we look forward to strengthening that relationship as we work together to build readiness and enhance interoperability between our militaries and those of our allies and partners," Kolasheski said.

The new forward command post is part of an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between Poland and the United States, finalized on July 31. The U.S. embassy in Warsaw in August announced that about 200 Army personnel will form the post.

The EDCA enables a troop presence of about 1,000 personnel, in addition to about 4,500 troops already stationed in Poland.