Army Sends Weaponless Reserve Unit to Iraq

"I was in combat arms so I guess I really wouldnt be the one to say as we all had weapons"

yes, rightly so; and you have the decency to admit that maybe the lower-priority units (tho still essential) would have less. Thanks for your understanding, and for your service.

If Kerry had it his way, we would have surrendered!

Well lookie here:

Army is mobilizing a reserve training unit to help train Iraqi troops

Hmmm,seems something is fishy here!

No,mention of "Army Sends Weaponless Reserve Unit"

Something stinks about this article,and it's not Lt. Gen. James Helmly.

I frankly have started to put a boot up some people's fannies about getting everyone ready," he said.

US Forces Order of Battle - 21 September 2004

"..According to the Sept. 20 NY Times, the week prior, the US Army Reserve announced that 800 soldiers from the Rochester, NY-based 98th Division would be deployed in the forthcoming nine weeks to Iraq. The overseas deployment would be the unit's first since World War II. In Iraq, the unit will assume a lead role in training the New Iraqi Army..."

Army Reserve chief says force was not well-prepared for terror war

"..For years the conventional wisdom among members of the Army Reserve was that they were unlikely to get mobilized, and if they did it would be for non-combat duty in a secure rear area, far from the fighting. The war in Iraq, where no soldier is immune from attack, has shattered that belief.

Too often, Helmly said, he hears that members of a newly mobilized Reserve unit respond to the news of their activation by saying, "I didn't think it was going to happen to us," and they are not prepared.

"I frankly have started to put a boot up some people's fannies about getting everyone ready," he said.

As an example of the mindset he is working to change, Helmly described the reaction he got from the 98th Division, whose main mission is training other U.S.-based Army units, when it was told that about 800 members will be mobilized and sent to Iraq in October to help train the Iraqi army.

"I've gotten cards, letters, e-mails (saying), 'How can you do that?'" he said.

In the 45 years since the 98th Division became part of the Army Reserve it has never deployed abroad, according to spokesman Steve Stromvall, although it did occupation duty in Japan in 1945-46 as an active-duty infantry division. It is scheduled to spend 12 months in Iraq..."

The Question to ask is "Is it a TDA unit or TO&E unit?" and then run the story from there. How many reporters know the difference between a lettered company and a numbered company?

Far too many news people do not understand how the military works. Yet they try to report it to people who understand it even less.

Friday, July 9, 2004

Text of a Army Reserve 98th Division mobilization draft

Text of a Army Reserve 98th Division mobilization draft dated June 27 that was obtained by The Daily Star this week. It appears as written but with acronyms written out in italics.

Intent:

We will deploy TF 98 (Taskforce 98th Division) to Iraq to train the new Iraqi National Army (INA) to rebuild their capability to provide their own National Security capability and reduce Coalition presence in Iraq. Success will be defined by the completion of training of 3 divisions consisting of 3 brigades each, with 3 battalions per brigade, and the successful redeployment of TF 98 to home station.

We need to plan for the entire 98th DIV (IT) (Institutional Training) to be mobilized to execute this mission, and for soldiers to be away from their civilian responsibilities for 18 to 24 months. Commanders at all levels should think mobilization and should eliminate those activities which are not related to MOB (mobilization) from their training schedules:

• Identify retirement-eligible soldiers who are non-deployable and process them for retirement.

• Remove non-deployable soldiers and process them for separation.

• Train now in Warrior Ethos tasks and make the best use of remaining UTAs (unit training assemblies or training weekends) improve soldier and family readiness.

• Qualify your soldiers with their weapons.

• Get all soldiers MOS (military occupation specialty) /Drill/Instructor qualified now.

• Remember family readiness and educate soldiers and families about Tri-Care and other programs for mobilized Reserve soldiers and families.

• Develop battle rosters.

• Remain positive and flexible as we continue to do the Nation's work.

Above all, we must remember our success in this mission sets the conditions for future operations of this nature and affects the success of the United States' and the Coalition's mission to rebuild the nation of Iraq.

Purpose: The Purpose of TF 98 is to provide a force multiplier for the Office of Security and Transition (OST) by consolidating the training of the INA under the control of a Foreign Army Training Command (FA-TRAC). Ultimately, the training we conduct will save U.S. and coalition lives and will significantly impact the Coalition's success in Iraq.

They need weapons to train Iraqi troops?

Are they gonna shoot the trainees who don't maintain a D or better average?

Are you sure that they are American, this sounds a lot like French Special forces to me...

A little different slant on the topic and a more complete explaination.......

Published: Sep 17, 2004
Modified: Sep 17, 2004 3:15 AM

Reserve chief: Forces haven't adapted to duty overseas

Helmly: The Reserve's historic role has been noncombat.

By ROBERT BURNS, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The chief of the Army Reserve said Thursday that his force of part-time soldiers has yet to fully adapt to the demands of a global war on terrorism, even though half of the 205,000 Reserve members have been called to active duty since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"We're at war, this is a hard war and we, frankly, inside the Army Reserve have been not properly prepared for it," Lt. Gen. James Helmly said, adding that he sees some signs of improvement.
Many members of the Army Reserve, like their fellow part-time soldiers in the National Guard, are not used to being mobilized for the kind of long and dangerous duty they face in Iraq.
"Every time I visit a unit, I take about 45 minutes to an hour and try to talk to all of them and explain to them every initiative we have under way to properly prepare ourselves and bring the institution to a wartime footing, but it's hard," Helmly said in an interview with a group of reporters.

The Army Reserve has about 38,500 on active duty now, and those in Iraq are serving 12-month tours, which is twice as long as mobilized Reserve members spend on peacekeeping duty in Bosnia and Kosovo.
"You must prepare yourself physically, mentally, spiritually," Helmly said he advises Reserve soldiers, "such that you are prepared for a call to active duty just as if you knew the hour and the day that it would come. That's a long-term change" from attitudes developed over decades.
For years the conventional wisdom among members of the Army Reserve was that they were unlikely to be mobilized, and if they did it would be for noncombat duty in a secure rear area, far from the fighting. The war in Iraq, where no soldier is immune from attack, has shattered that belief.
Too often, Helmly said, he hears that members of a newly mobilized Reserve unit respond to the news of their activation by saying, "I didn't think it was going to happen to us," and they are not prepared.
"I frankly have started to put a boot up some people's fannies about getting everyone ready," he said.
As an example of the mind-set he is working to change, Helmly described the reaction he got from the 98th Division, whose main mission is training other U.S.-based Army units, when it was told that about 800 members would be mobilized and sent to Iraq in October to help train the Iraqi army.
"I've gotten cards, letters, e-mails [saying], 'How can you do that?' " he said.
Generally, the Army Reserve's role is to provide support services such as medical specialists, military police and truck drivers. In Iraq, however, danger haunts every soldier, regardless of role.
At least 49 members of the Army Reserve have died in Iraq since the invasion began in March 2003, and Helmly said 58 have died overall since the global war on terrorism began in October 2001.

Question?.......

Why did you post an article from the Killen TV Station under a false date........ The article isn't dated today but was a week ago.... Here's the article as found on a google search...... Why?

Army Sends Weaponless Reserve Unit To Iraq

KWTX, TX - Sep 18, 2004

About 800 members of the 98th Army Reserve Division from Rochester, New York will begin a year-long mission in Iraq next

Here's a little info on the mission of the 98th.

The mission of the 98th Division (Institutional Training) is to provide training opportunities through the Total Army School System (TASS); to provide expansion capability to the Army Training Center; to provide training and support to JROTC, ROTC and USMA; to provide units and individuals in support of contingency operations; to provide a superior quality of life to its internal and external customers.

Organization Description

The 98th Division (Institutional Training) is one of seven institutional training divisions that was established to meet the needs of the Army of the 21st Century. The 98th Division (IT) is responsible for training within Region A, which covers eight states in the northeastern United States. The following states are within the division's area of responsibility: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The division supports a dedicated military and civilian work force and provides programs and services for its military families and retirees living in its local communities. The 98th Division (IT) supports a total population in excess of 5,000 on any given day.

All of the division's facilities are government-owned and are serviced by two Regional Support Commands located within its operating area. The division also has subordinate organizations located on three installations: Fort Dix, New Jersey, Fort Hamilton, New York and the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area, Massachusetts. The division's major end items of equipment are concentrated within two activities and are used to conduct and support training for its customers.

The smart ones are stopping at the local knife shop and buying a genuine bowie knife and a throwing tomahawk for any shall we say needed close quarters work.

From Google -

98th Division (Institutional Training)
Iroquois

The 98th Division (Institutional Training), a Direct Reporting Command of the US Army Reserve Command with its headquarters in Rochester, NY. The division consists of over 3,300 soldiers located at the Army Reserve Centers spanning all of the New England states, New York and New Jersey. The division consists of eight training brigades that incorporate US Army Reserve Forces Schools, a Reserve Forces Training Site-Maintenance, a Reserve Forces Intelligence School, a Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, and an ROTC Training detachment (8th Brigade).

The 98th Division has provided the nation with a fully trained and prepared complement of citizen-soldier ready to meet any mission. The many accomplishments of these soldiers were achieved in a historical context ripe with change. 98th Division soldiers have surmounted every obstacle from mobilization and wartime service including occupational duty during World War II, and through the various reorganizations, restructuring, and mission changes during the decades that followed.

The 98th Division (Iroquois) has the unique right to claim two birthdays-July 23, 1918 and June 24, 1921. The first date is based on the division’s partial organization during the closing months of World War I. As combat on the Western Front remained static in early 1918, Army planner decided that the additional divisions might be needed to bolster Gen. "Black Jack" Pershing’s American Expeditionary Force. Thus, Headquarters, 98th Division, was "constituted" on July 23, 1918 at Fort McClellan, AL. The division was organized on paper, a Chief of Staff and regimental commanders were chosen, and in October, troop-fill commenced. But armistice between Germany and the Allies ended further action. The division was demobilized in November after four months of existence, never having been completely organized.

As soldiers returned from Europe and were discharged, the War Department realized that a pool of combat expertise was being lost. This led Congress to pass the National Defense Act of 1920 which provided for a small active component force with substantial Reserve and National Guard augmentation. The federal portion was to be called the Organized Reserve. A reservist of the period summarized the significance as follows, "Someone had a dream of salvaging something from the tremendous experience that the war had brought and had evolved a plan new to Americans of the Federal Reserve force…"

The 98th Division was formally established as a component of the Organized Reserve on June 24, 1921 and assigned to II Corps (A relationship which would last off and on for forty-six years). During the twenties and thirties, the 98th Division was organized as a square division with four line infantry regiments. The commands were located throughout New York.

The 98th Infantry Division saw no combat in World War II. It arrived in Hawaii, 19 April 1944, and remained on security duty until the end of the war in the Pacific. In mid-August 1945, the Division left for occupation duty in Japan, arriving on 27 September 1945. Fifty-four days after the declaration of World War II, the 98th Division became an active Army Infantry division and later formed on September 15, 1942. The troop fill-cycle started in November 1942, and notably, the geographical character of the division remained through assignment of draftees principally from New York State and the rest of New England.

In terms of organization, the 98th was activated as a triangular infantry division. The combat core consisted of three infantry regiments (389th, 390th, 391st). The colors of the 392nd , the fourth regiment of the division at the time, were cased. When staffed and organized, the division started its mobilization training.

After almost eighteen months of training and testing, the division prepared for deployment. On April 19, 1944, the 98th Division arrived at Oahu, Hawaii, where the Iroquois soldiers relieved the 33rd Division of their responsibility for the defense of the Hawaiian Islands, and began training for Asiatic deployment.

As the Pacific fleet and MacArthur’s ground forces moved closer to the island empire, War Department strategists turned to planning the invasion of Japan. If they had any doubts as to the ferocity of the Japanese response to such a campaign, the kamikaze pilots and suicide infantry squads on Iwo Jima and Okinawa answered them. The planners called for two invasions: Operation Olympic about November 1, 1945 on the island of Kyushu and Operation Coronet about March 1, 1946 on Honshu. The 98th was intended to be one of the thirteen divisions of Kyushu. The Iroquois soldiers were prepared for the mission. As the division continued to train, many troops, unaware of the role slated for the division, became disheartened as months and campaigns passed them by.

In the spring of 1947, ten months after the divisional colors had been sheathed in Osaka, the Iroquois Division returned to reserve status under provision of First Army General Order 152. Activation ceremonies were held on April 18, 1947 in Syracuse, NY amid the growing realization that a more dangerous form of peace was evolving-the so called "Cold War." The division has evolved to what it is today as a training division.

The 98th Division (Institutional Training) was first constituted July 23, 1918, at camp McClellan, Alabama. It became part of the reserve structure in 1921 and continued operating in upstate New York until 1942. The division was then activated and following training in the continental United States and Hawaii, was targeted to become part of the force constituted for the invasion of Japan. The division served as an occupying force in Osaka, Japan until February 1946. Since December 1946, it has been a component of the US Army Reserve. It was first an infantry division and in 1959 was designated a training division. In 1994 a further reorganization resulted in it being designated the 98th Division (Institutional Training).

To be able to rise to any summons to protect the vital interests of America and to insure the national security of the nation requires a special kind of citizen soldier. A professional who must be willing to dedicate a portion of his or her life, away from family and community, in order to accomplish the many challenges that are a part of the life of a soldier. A reservist must be an individual who enthusiastically responds to the vigorous educational requirements and the demanding personal physical training needed to meet the same standards as their Active Components counterparts. The citizen-soldier must be an idealist believing in the great principles of freedom and democracy and knowing the price to keep them is eternal vigilance.

Throughout the times, the key focus has been to be mission capable through training. Whether it is through instruction of Drill Sergeants, training initial entry soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood in engineer skills, or through the myriad of training opportunities during annual training and drill assemblies, the 98th Division has maintained its hard-earned reputation as one of the best prepared Training Divisions in the Army.

THe 98th Division is an Institutional Training (IT) division. THey teach MOS producing courses - for all intents and purposes, they are trainers. That's why they are getting this mission to train the Iraqi police force.

They are not a TO&E unit.

They're lucky if they have M35's and CUCV's.

THey will need to fall in on something resembling a combat load once they get to Kuwait to get ready for onward movement to Iraq.

It sounds like the quote is taken from a longer interview and is out of context. What else is new.

No units are going to Iraq without weapons. No individuals are going to Iraq without weapons either. When we have people go to Iraq from Qatar they draw a weapon, ammunition and body armor.

Nearly all units going to Iraq go through Kuwait first. Any deficiencies in personal equipment are made up there.

The Stay Behind Equipment (SBE) is a hot topic in the military right now. There is also Prepositioned Equipment (Prepo) available from the Army Prepositioned Stocks (APS). At this point most of that equipment has been drawn and used and some of it returned and is being reconstituted. Most vehicles - in particular armored HMMWVs - are left behind for the new unit to fall in on. When a new unit arrives, they work with the departing unit for a week or more depending on the mission to learn the ropes.

Army Sends Weaponless Reserve Unit to Iraq

Not so. They are all equipped with Senator Kerry's Spitball weaponry.

These aren't the first members of the 98th Division to go.

found at: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2004/nr20040427-0670.html

No. 378-04
IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 27, 2004

DoD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Soldiers supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on April 26, in Baghdad, Iraq, by a large explosion while performing site security. The two Soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. Killed were:

Sgt. Sherwood R. Baker, 30, of Plymouth, Penn., assigned to the Army National Guard’s Company B, 2nd Battalion, 103rd Armor Regiment, Tamaqua, Penn.

Sgt. Lawrence A. Roukey, 33, of Westbrook, Maine, assigned to the Army Reserve’s Detachment 1, 3rd Battalion, 304th Regiment, 98th Division, Lewiston, Maine.

The incident is under investigation.

For further information related to this release, contact Army Public Affairs at (703) 692-2000.

"Nearly all units going to Iraq go through Kuwait first. Any deficiencies in personal equipment are made up there."

or during Stateside training before deploying. (and individual soldiers can buy extra stuff in Kuwait too . . .)

"The Stay Behind Equipment (SBE) is a hot topic in the military right now. . . . Most vehicles - in particular armored HMMWVs - are left behind for the new unit to fall in on. "

I am glad to hear about the emphasis on SBE. It only makes sense. With the improvised explosives, etc. I hate to think of anyone running around in Iraq without an up-armored vehicle -- esp. if the up-armored vehicles that had been there were shipped back to the States with a returning unit!

Thanks for the update.

the unit has weapons, this must be a troll

The article she posted was as is on the TV web site..... but she definetly screwed with the date as it's a week old article.......