The Pentagon has abruptly halted the deployment of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division to Europe, ordering the advanced elements already in Poland to return to the United States. A U.S. defense official confirmed that the multi-month mission aimed at bolstering NATO's eastern flank has been frozen via a Department of Defense memorandum. The roughly 4,000-soldier "Black Jack" brigade based out of Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood), Texas. The unit had already cased its colors on May 1, 2026, to signify the start of its planned nine-month rotation. While the main body of troops has been stopped from flying out, the brigade's heavy armored equipment and vehicles have already been shipped and are actively in transit across the Atlantic.