Posted on 08/01/2003 5:29:35 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Departing Fort Drum troops expect history to happen soon
Friday August 01, 2003
By WILLIAM KATES Associated Press Writer
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) As the latest group of 10th Mountain Division soldiers departed Friday for policing duty in Afghanistan, the troops were confident U.S.-led forces in Iraq would soon capture Saddam Hussein.
``The noose is closing around his neck fast. He's up against the best ... what chance does he have,'' Pfc. Joe Bergman said as he stood with his unit waiting to board a plane at the Rapid Deployment Center at Fort Drum's Wheeler-Sack Airfield.
``We need to get Saddam out of the way so the Iraqis can focus on rebuilding their country,'' said Bergman, 21, of Oak Harbor, Ohio.
Approximately 250 soldiers from C Company, 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry Regiment and A Company, 41st Engineer Battalion, left Fort Drum Friday. The departure was part of an ongoing deployment that began in late May and will continue into early fall as the 10th Mountain Division takes over command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
By mid-September, nearly 7,000 troops from the 10th Mountain Division will be deployed in Afghanistan, said Fort Drum spokesman R.D. Murphy. About 800 Fort Drum soldiers remain in Iraq. The full division has about 10,000 soldiers.
Although they were headed to Afghanistan, several soldiers spoke about the events that unfolded over the past week in Iraq: Saddam Hussein's two sons killed in a gunfight, several close associates surrendering to U.S. forces, and Hussein's two daughters taking sanctuary in Jordan.
``Any day now, is my guess. There's going to be no one left to hide him,'' said Tony Brammer, a medic with the 41st from Shreveport, La. ``I think getting Saddam is going to give a morale boost to the whole nation.''
Pfc. Chris Farrington of Lake George, N.Y., said many soldiers have closely followed the news in Iraq, even though preparing for deployment made it difficult.
``It just won't seem 100 percent resolved until we get Saddam and bin Laden,'' said Farrington, 21. ``As long as they're out there somewhere, its unfinished business, and that's not the way the Army likes to do a job.''
Last month, the Army announced that the 10th Mountain Division had taken over the training of the Afghan National Army from Special Forces troops. The Fort Drum soldiers who left Friday will be helping track holdouts loyal to the deposed Taliban government and remnants of al-Qaida.
Coalition troops have been in Afghanistan since Afghan ground troops, aided by a massive U.S. bombing campaign, ousted the former Taliban government in late 2001.
Afghan authorities say the Taliban and its allies have been regrouping in recent months, stepping up attacks not only on coalition forces and Afghan government forces, but also on aid workers.<
Not according to those soldiers in Fallujah ABC interviewed.
My brother is on this tour. God Bless him and the other guys.
Amen, Amelia. ;-)
Amen. Please tell him we're all praying, Amelia.
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