Regards,
GtG
Posted on 10/31/2004 11:37:32 AM PST by TexKat
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A brigade of fresh U.S. troops arriving in Baghdad will push the total U.S. troop presence in the Iraqi capital to around 40,000 by Monday, as planners prepare for the coming assault on insurgent hotspots to the west and the Iraqi elections in January.
Army units that were slated to depart are being held back until after the elections, causing the overall number of U.S. troops in Iraq to swell to around 142,000, the highest level since the summer of 2003.
At Camp Victory North, the sprawling headquarters of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division, the mess hall and housing trailers are brimming to capacity with the arrival of the 3,700-member Louisiana-based 256th Enhanced Separate Brigade, a National Guard unit that has been rolling into Baghdad over the past few days.
The arrival of the 256th was supposed to have been timed with the departure of the 1st Cavalry's 2nd Brigade, which was scheduled to prepare to return to Fort Hood, Texas in November. But the Pentagon delayed the 2nd Brigade's departure by two months, military officials said.
Iraq's impending elections and expected offensives in Iraq's western Anbar province are expected to soak up much of the extra U.S. combat power.
About 850 British troops, mostly from the Black Watch regiment, have taken positions south of Baghdad, allowing U.S. Marines once stationed there to reposition in Anbar province, home of guerrilla strongholds of Fallujah, Ramadi, Hit and Husaybah.
The troop boost leaves Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of the 1st Cavalry, in charge of eight Army brigades, or more than 32,000 soldiers. Baghdad is also home to the 89th Military Police Brigade and other units reporting to the Army's III Corps which runs the war.
The five elemental brigades of Chiarelli's division are expected to begin the process of pulling out of Iraq in late January, after the return of the Army's Georgia-based 3rd Infantry Division, which arrives for its second tour in Iraq. The 3rd Infantry led the charge to Baghdad and captured the city in April 2003.
Three brigades now under Chiarelli's command will stay behind in Iraq: the 256th, the Arkansas-based 39th Enhanced Separate Brigade, and the 2nd Brigade of the Army's 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, New York.
Also staying longer will be 3,000 soldiers of the Tikrit-based 1st Infantry Division headquarters. They previously were scheduled to have been replaced in January, before the elections, by incoming troops from the 42nd Infantry Division, New York National Guard.
Early next year, the Army's III Corps will transfer control of overall war fighting duties in Iraq to the 18th Airborne Corps, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Even as it builds up its forces here, the U.S. military has softened one of its more aggressive symbols.
The Army has renamed 17 of its bases in and around the Iraqi capital, dropping cocky names like Camp Steel Dragon for more benign ones like Camp Honor.
Gone also is Camp Headhunter, Camp Banzai, Camp Warhorse and Camp Gunslinger. Since mid-September, those bases have been renamed camps Independence, Justice, Freedom and Solidarity.
"It's gone from warrior to helper," was how one soldier, who asked not to be named, explained it.
The new names have been given Arabic translations, which have become the official titles that now appear on signs and news releases.
Already, on Camp Victory North, now renamed Camp Liberty, signs declare that travelers have entered Camp Al-Tahreer - or Camp Liberation.
Ping
Nov 3 ??
I was thinking some fresh B-52's and a shipload of Cruise missles would get the attention of the "insurgents."
I think a flight of B-52's flying over low and dropping a whole bunch of leaflets, telling the recipients that the next flight might drop something heavier, would work wonders on insurgent attitudes.
I grew up in northern Wisconsin. I was working in the woods with my brother in winter back in the late 50's when a SAC B52 made a penetration run, trying to sneak past a NORAD radar site in Norway MI. I swear the plane was below 100 feet, I could see rivets as it passed over. The wings seemed to reach to the horizon in both directions and it was out of sight in seconds. It was the most awe inspiring thing I've ever seen in the sky and I'll never forget the thunder it made in passing.
The BUFF's are MOST impressive up close and personal. God bless the American fighting forces one and all.
Regards,
GtG
It’s the morning of May 18, 2004. While driving on I-10, the traffic backed up as I entered LaPlace. Annoyed by the slowdown I wondered why all the 18-wheelers were merging left.
There ahead was a sign on the back of a vehicle telling me that it was a convoy. At the same time WWL news came on my radio and told me what I was in the middle of…4000 U.S. Soldiers going off to war…the 256th Infantry Brigade.
As far as the traffic slowdown, well my feelings changed pretty quickly, especially when I saw two young women standing on the side of the interstate holding signs telling of their love for their Soldiers!
That image immediately tied that steel convoy to families. I was in the middle of one of the most intimate moments of these families’ lives, yet I felt invited to share their wishes.
As I passed each vehicle, each Soldier showed the dignity and composure of the finest Soldiers I’ve ever seen….so proud! I turned on my 4-way flashers and then only wished I had and American flag to wave as I passed. Thanks men and women of the Louisiana National Guard 256th! You’ve awakened and rekindled my fire!
I drove for several miles, even though it felt like it was forever. I then exited the interstate as soon as I could to buy a flag at one of the convenience stores…but they were sold out.
Thank God I’m not alone. I went to the next three stores and all they had were LSU flags, no American flags. “Sold out, sorry waiting for some to arrive.” Back onto the road. Finally at the next exit, I located an American flag headscarf.
It wasn’t a flag, but it definitely had what I needed. “Stars and Stripes.” Back onto the interstate. As I passed the convoy, I opened my window and held “what is worth fighting for” in my hand, waving at 70 miles per hour for the men and women who were doing it all for me, the American. God Bless You! God Bless America! As I passed, I only wished that the U.S. Olympic committee could see my flag and the Soldiers honking their horns and waving back, wiping their eyes, and doing it all for my freedom to wave the colors of my country, the country that does more good in this world than anyone could calculate. Thank you men and women! God speed! ~Anonymous~
Prayers going out in concert this week.
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A brigade of fresh U.S. troops arriving in Baghdad will push the total U.S. troop presence in the Iraqi capital to around 40,000 by Monday, as planners prepare for the coming assault on insurgent hotspots to the west and the Iraqi elections in January.
Thanks for sharing that ijcr. Very moving.
Getting ready to kill bad guys ~ Bump!
Bump!
My son is in the unit....apparently the BG has isssued the following instruction.
1. Terrorists taste like chicken.
2. The limit is Four.
3. They are out of season.
Geaux Tigers. Fallujah chicken this week.
God be with you son ijcr always. Please relay our gratitude when possible.
40,000...40,000...where have I heard that troop increase number from before...let me think.
Anybody got a link to that "The Terrorists Have Won the Toss and Have Elected to Receive!" picture?
Regards,
GtG
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