Posted on 03/25/2003 6:21:29 AM PST by emt_27
FORT HOOD, Texas - For two months they lived on the edge, expecting the call at any moment. At last, soldiers with the Army's 4th Infantry Division on Saturday got some welcome news: Ships loaded with their equipment were on their way to the Persian Gulf.
It was a big relief.
"The speculation's over, the waiting is over, the wondering is over," said Maj. Josslyn Aberle, a public affairs officer. "Now it's time to go do our jobs."
Some 33,000 troops of the division or attached to it have been under orders to deploy since Jan. 18. They had to wait at Fort Hood and other bases, however, while Washington tried to negotiate with the Turkish government to allow them to passage through their country.
Military planners had wanted the 4th Infantry Division to use Turkey as a springboard to open a northern front against Iraq (news - web sites), which would have put extra pressure on Iraq's army by making it defend in several directions.
On Saturday, that plan apparently was abandoned. About 40 ships carrying weaponry for the 4th Infantry were on their way to the Gulf, expected to begin moving through the Suez Canal on Sunday, defense officials said.
The 4th Infantry's soldiers are likely to go to Kuwait, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was also was possible that they could enter Iraq directly through the Gulf port of Umm Qasr, now under the control of British and U.S. Marines after clashes Friday with Iraqi forces.
Lead elements of the division are expected to fly out of Fort Hood early next week to begin preparations for the arrival of the division's troops.
Considered the Army's most lethal and deployable heavy division — with ultramodern equipment all linked by computers — the division made record time in loading its more than 14,000 pieces of equipment onto ships after it got orders, and then moving those ships to Turkey.
But waiting has been painful for the soldiers — especially as they see news of friends and relatives in other units now in action.
Going into the weekend, officers sought to reassure anxious troops watching the war unfold on TV that their time would soon come.
"We don't know when we're going to go. But everyone can watch the news, and pretty soon we're going to be out there doing the same thing," Maj. Steve Hite, executive officer of the 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery told the 500 men in his unit.
Soldiers getting new desert camouflage uniforms issued Saturday morning said they were relieved the ships were moving out.
"We've been sitting around for two-plus months," Staff Sgt. John Garfield, 31. "If it's affecting me, I know it's affecting the younger guys."
The equipment I guess would take 4 to 5 days to go around the Straits of Hormuz and dock in Kuwait or Um Qasr. Then they have to offload it. That in itself is a several day operation. I'm afraid (or it might be good? that 3rd ID and I MEF will either be heavily engaged or the battle will be over before there can be a meaningful deployment of 4th ID. However, they can help up clean up the garbage in the South and I'm sure the Brits surrounding Basra would love to see them.
For what it's worth, the 3rd ID, 101st Airmobile and I MEF will be more than enough to handle the Iraqis around Baghdad. This is with the Coalition Air Forces. We shall see.
These are just guesses.
Don't worry. The 4th ID will see plenty of action mopping up after the mad dash to the North the other forces have made.
It will be like shooting ducks in a barrel.
How much did Iraq and Iran play with Turkey?
Who are our Allies that John Kerry calls to help us?
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