The Long Wait Finally Is Over For All Americans : Rapid-deployment division heads to war

Army Times | July 8, 2002 | Matthew Cox

[Stand Watch Listen]

POPE AIR FORCE BASE, North Carolina — The 82nd Airborne Division has launched for Afghanistan, ending what had become a frustrating period for many paratroopers waiting to join America’s war on terrorism.

In the early morning hours of June 25, the first of about 3,000 soldiers from 3rd Brigade took off in a C-17 Globemaster to relieve their comrades from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

In the past, the Army has relied on the 82nd’s rapid-deployment capability when it needed to put forces on the ground in a hurry. They were among the first combat troops to be sent into Panama for Operation Just Cause in 1989 and into the Persian Gulf region as part of Operation Desert Shield in 1990.

Soldiers from the 82nd also were the first ground forces to enter Kosovo in 1999 when peacekeeping operations first were established there.

But the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) and the 101st have been the Army’s only conventional fighting forces on the ground in Afghanistan. Until now.

Trained and ready to deploy within 18 hours to conduct forced-entry combat missions, the paratroopers found themselves wondering when their turn would come.

"We have been waiting for this for a while, since Sept. 11," said Sgt. Jason Love, of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. "I kind of wondered why we didn’t go, like in the fall, but the 10th Mountain and 101st Airborne divisions went over and did a really good job."

Other paratroopers echoed Love’s feelings as they sat in a parachute-rigging shed at the personnel-loading area known as Green Ramp, waiting to board aircraft.

"I figured we were going to be gone a long time ago," said Pfc. Ben Morgan, a M203 grenadier with A Company, 3rd Battalion. "We’ve got to be prepared to perform that job every day. We have been waiting awhile."

Senior leaders in the unit, however, didn’t share this feeling.

"I don’t look at it as who goes first and who goes last — that’s not what it’s about at all," said Lt. Col. Marty Schweitzer, commander of 3rd Battalion. "I think it’s whenever you go, you contribute the best way you can … but it’s not a competition between the 82nd and other units."

The soldiers of 3rd Brigade agreed, though, that it was a benefit to have time to conduct training designed for such a theater as Afghanistan.

Soldiers from the 101st’s 187th Infantry Regiment returning from Afghanistan visited Fort Bragg to share some of the lessons learned in how to cope with the country’s complex terrain.

Some of the specialized training involved soldiers searching mockup cave complexes fashioned from a trench line on a training range at Bragg.

"We did a lot of cave operations and operations in complex urban terrain to refine our skills. It really provided us that extra honing of the bayonet," Schweitzer said.

The unit also put a much stronger emphasis on helicopter warfare during its recent intensive training cycle in April. "We did a lot of helicopter and air assaults during ITC, much more than usual," said Col. Jim Huggins, commander of 3rd Brigade.

Because of this additional training, hese paratroopers are confident they will leave their mark on Afghanistan.

"We are the ‘All Americans,’" said Sgt. Charles Foxx of A Company. "We carry the hopes and dreams of Americans. Every major war that’s been fought, we have been there and made them proud. And they want us to do it again."

The 82nd’s relief of the 101st is expected to be a phased process throughout the summer, division officials said. In addition to the 3rd Battalion, the 1st Battalion, 505th, and the 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, are slated to deploy over the next several weeks.

Soldiers from 3rd Battalion waiting to leave displayed a sense of relief their wait had come to an end. "For the most part, we are all really looking forward to getting over there and getting on with it," said Capt. Brian Sullivan, commander of A Company.For Sullivan, however, it will mean up to six months away from his wife, Shannon. "She is a rock. I get a lot of my strength from her," he said. "She said she realized this was bigger than both of us, and it really is important that [my unit] go over and do what we have to do."

Other soldiers admitted they are apprehensive about what awaits them.

"Whatever gets put in front of us, we’ll deal with it … but you still don’t know what you are going to be dealing with until you get over there," said Pfc. Ben Hartwell of A Company.

Significant contact with the enemy has dropped off since Operation Anaconda in March, but intelligence officials aren’t taking anything for granted.

"We haven’t seen anything the size of Anaconda," said Lt. Col. Nick Guarino, intelligence officer for 3rd Brigade. "But that doesn’t mean we are not ready for it and that [the threat] doesn’t exist."