Posted on 07/23/2004 2:29:24 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4
FORT BENNING, Ga. - The Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which led the blitz to Baghdad during the Iraqi war, announced Friday that it has received deployment orders to return for at least a year to combat the nagging insurgency and to help the Iraqis establish their own government.
"The deployment is part of a planned rotation of forces," said Maj. Gen. William Webster, the division's commander, in a release issued from 3rd ID headquarters at Fort Stewart, near Savannah. "We expect to be deployed for approximately one year. However, there are no guarantees. The situation on the ground and the needs of the theater commander will ultimately determine their length of our deployment."
Two of the division's brigades are at Fort Stewart and a third is across the state at Fort Benning, outside Columbus. The division's aviation brigade is at Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah.
Following a reorganization after the war, the division now has about 19,000 soldiers, up from 16,000 when the division led the charge to Baghdad in April 2003.
Col. Steven L. Salazar, the 3rd Brigade commander, said the latest deployment could begin between November and February.
"This is no surprise to us, our soldiers or their families," Salazar said at a news conference at a Fort Benning rail head, where 4,000 to 5,000 M-1 Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, trucks and other vehicles were being loaded onto flat cars for a trip to the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La.
Salazar's soldiers will begin the final phase of their training for their new mission in about three weeks. Some 1,500 actors, representing all factions in Iraq, will test the soldiers' ability to react to a wide range of situations.
"The brigade combat team has been training to answer our country's call," Salazar said. "We have wonderful families. They know this has been coming.
"Everyone in the Army is committed to this mission - doing our nation's work," Salazar said. "The soldiers inspire me every day. They are great Americans. They understand the sacrifices that have to be made."
Spc. Cory Nakamura of Los Angeles, a member of the 3rd Brigade's 1-15th Infantry, said he married after returning from the war and his wife is "very supportive" of his new mission in the Middle East.
"It's going to be a completely different mission," he said. "The first time, we were on the offensive. Now we're working with the Iraqis. I'd like to see a more peaceful, democratic Iraq."
Another young veteran of the war, Spc. Timothy Clark, of Perry, N.Y., said a return to Iraq "is probably not a choice you'd like to make, but you're obligated. You have to feel that way when you sign the paper and raise your right hand."
Clark said his wife, Debbie, is understanding because she is also a soldier - a mental health worker stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C.
"I'm hoping to make them (insurgents) think twice about the destruction they're doing to U.S. soldiers," said Clark, a fire direction control specialist with the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery. "The 3rd Brigade will go over and put its foot down. It's the best combat team in the military. We proved it in OF1 (the war)."
Capt. Julius Boyd, who was supervising the loading at the rail head, said the deployment order causes him a little concern.
But Boyd, a veteran of the first Persian Gulf War, added that he's willing to go "as many times as it takes to restore the hope and faith of the Iraqi people."
ping
Greater Love hath no man..............
This man's spirit humbles me.
Here's a link explaining the reorganization mentioned.
Me thinks the Third will be advancing in a Easterly direction this time...
I used to live near Ft. Stewart when it was called the 24th ID, and recall it was the heart of the operations in Desert Storm.
I'm guessing the 101st will be ready for deployment this winter as well.
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