Posted on 08/21/2006 4:13:18 PM PDT by SandRat
FT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska (Army News Service, Aug. 18, 2006) -- In a press conference Aug. 14 between the Pentagon and Forts Wainwright and Richardson, U.S. Army Alaska announced the decision to return 301 Soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team — who recently redeployed to Alaska — back to Iraq to join the 172nd in Baghdad.
In June and July, 378 Soldiers from the 172nd SBCT returned from Iraq. Further redeployments were halted following a request by Gen. George Casey Jr., commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. The request was approved by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
“Immediately following (the redeployment), Gen. Casey made the exceptionally difficult decision to extend the (brigade’s) deployment,” said Maj. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., U.S. Army Alaska commander. “From a tactical and military standpoint, this makes all the sense in the world,” Jacoby said. “It is much preferable to reassemble a proven team that has fought together for so long and performed so well in such a difficult environment.”
According to Jacoby, the brigade of more than 4,000 Soldiers and numerous Stryker vehicles are in the process of relocating to Baghdad and will soon “fall in on an infrastructure well-established over time.”
“The commanders there are working hard to receive and stage our Soldiers,” Jacoby said. “They’re very busy with a tremendous logistics effort to get the brigade into the fight.”
Jacoby directed the establishment of Family Assistance Centers at Forts Wainwright and Richardson the day following the announcement of the 172nd SBCT’s extended tour in Iraq. The FACs are designed to deal with the issues and challenges Soldiers and families are experiencing as a result of the extension. Family members across the country are encouraged to contact the FACs toll free 24 hours a day (800-352-9013 at Fort Wainwright; 800-984-1517 at Fort Richardson) for assistance.
But many of these issues and challenges would also require help from a higher power — namely, the Department of the Army.
“In a matter of a day, help came in the form of a team of experts from the Department of the Army in Washington, D.C.,” Jacoby said.
“Last Friday, General Schoomaker, the Chief of Staff of the Army, after returning from visiting the brigade in theater, came to Fort Wainwright to meet with the members of the 172nd, my staff, family readiness group leaders and his team of experts to personally give guidance on how DA is going to assist these great families,” he added.
Jacoby lauded the DA’s efforts to date: “From where I sit, I can tell you the operating philosophy of the Army has been, ‘Extraordinary things have been asked of this brigade, and the Army will take extraordinary efforts to support the brigade and its families.’”
Lt. Col. Ron Johnson, Fort Wainwright Garrison commander, said, “One of the primary concerns in taking care of families is giving them skills and tools they need to deal with deployment-related issues.”
Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle, the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, echoed similar thoughts.
“The total commitment to look after the Soldiers’ needs is absolutely critical,” Rochelle said. “This redeployment really does represent not only the extraordinary versatility of our Army and our Soldiers, but I want to emphasize once again the level of commitment of the family members.”
Though the extension is difficult news for brigade Soldiers and families, Jacoby took it as a point of pride that Casey “went to a combat-experienced unit to take on the mission in Baghdad.”
“I would ask all Americans to keep these incredibly brave, incredibly dedicated members of your armed forces and their families in your thoughts every single day,” he said.
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