Posted on 01/03/2003 8:20:04 AM PST by PhiKapMom
Bush to Rally Troops at Texas Army Base
By JENNIFER LOVEN
The Associated Press
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush is rallying the troops at Fort Hood, an Army base in Texas that probably would send thousands of soldiers to the Persian Gulf in the event of war with Iraq.
Bush was to review troops in formation at the base Friday and give a speech expressing the nation's gratitude and lunching with Army personnel.
Fort Hood, the country's largest military base, is home to the 1st Cavalry Division, a highly mobile unit that relies on helicopters and tanks.
It is also the home of the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), which uses advanced digital systems to provide soldiers with a view of entire battlefields and who is on it, faster communication and more accurate firepower.
Fort Hood has more than 41,000 troops, but had little role in the war in Afghanistan. During the 1991 Gulf War, about 25,000 troops were deployed from there. While many soldiers have been sent to the Gulf region as part of the effort against terrorism, none has been sent there as part of the current buildup for possible war with Iraq, said Maj. Jay Woods, a base spokesman.
On Thursday, the president said he's skeptical that Iraq's Saddam Hussein will voluntarily rid his country of weapons of mass destruction as required by a new U.N. resolution. But he repeatedly said he's not on an inevitable path to war with the Iraqi leader.
``I'm hopeful we won't have to go to war,'' Bush said.
The Fort Hood trip marked the first time Bush had left his Crawford ranch for official White House business since arriving for vacation Dec. 26. On New Year's Eve, the president spoke with reporters during a visit to a local diner with first lady Laura Bush.
Thursday morning found Bush on semipublic view but still in vacation mode, as he invited about a dozen journalists on a four-mile hike around his ranch.
The 90-minute excursion on a cold, wind-swept winter morning - Bush estimated it covered the northeastern third of the 1,600-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch - had reporters scrambling to keep up as the president moved up and down hills, into rocky canyons and through muddy beds. Falling behind meant missing out on Bush's nonstop commentary on the diversity of the flora and fauna on his rambling ``little slice of heaven'' in central Texas.
``There's the great outdoors and you're supposed to be in it,'' said Bush, as he showed off a canyon called The Cathedral - one of seven on the ranch - newly cleared of brush to reveal a half-circle limestone overhang with a cascading waterfall.
The names of each tree he passed easily tripped off his tongue, as did those of birds, animals, fish and rocks. He clearly reveled in the surroundings, excitedly pointing out the property's abundant wild turkeys (``fantastic''), a spring unexpectedly bubbling out of rocks on a forested hillside (``special'') and The Cathedral (``wait until you see this place'').
Later, bounding toward a rocky 90-foot ledge, Bush pronounced it ``a great place to sit down and think - which I have done, I want you to know.''
But for a president not often given to quiet contemplation, it is as much his love of the physically demanding work on the property as its scenic opportunities that draws him.
As a result, the tour focused on his progress in clearing thick, suffocating cedar growth from around hardwood trees and opening up the prettier corners of the ranch. The project he happily acknowledges may never be finished is as much a personal salve as the fulfillment of a pledge to his wife, who feared at first that their many overgrown acres would remain inaccessible to them and their visitors.
One still uncleared section of forest had Bush imagining its potential. ``I see the makings of a beautiful rock formation,'' he said. ``Haven't made up my mind.''
He has plenty of time. Whatever the outcome of the ``interesting conversation Laura and I have had'' about whether the ranch ultimately should be primary residence or sometime haven, the Bushes clearly intend to spend much of their life here.
After the hike, Bush violated his earlier-voiced determination ``not to make news'' by fielding questions with several answers that did. And then he led his guests inside - muddy boots left on the front patio - for a rare glimpse of his single-story, metal-roofed stone home and mugs of strong hot coffee with the first lady.
01/03/03 10:35 EST
Our premier heavy armor division is about as mobile as a sledgehammer (but once it gets movin'...)
Anyway, great article, W reminds me of a cross between Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.
He is definitely NOT his father (thank God).
Too bad Helen Thomas wasn't there.
I wish the media would get it right in referring to an Army POST.
~an Air Force veteran
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