Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Savannah Morning News
June 3, 2008 By Pamela E. Walck
The way Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch sees things, the 3rd Infantry Division's Special Troops Battalion - and the seven brigades it managed while commanding the Multi-National Division Command in Baghdad for the past 15 months - got the job done.
"We did our job," said Lynch, commanding general for the 3rd ID, during a press conference at Hunter Army Airfield on Monday afternoon.
"We killed or captured 6,000 insurgents," he said. "We went from 25 attacks a day to less than two ... and we turned what was called the 'Triangle of Death' into a triangle of life."
At the same time, Lynch noted the Division met its recruitment goals for 2008 in early March, developed fish farms across an area of operation the size of West Virginia, and left Iraq with a strong sense of accomplishment.
The achievements, he noted, came during a deployment that has taxed soldiers and families.
"Fifteen months is not as simple as 12 months plus three," he said. "It's too simplistic to say it's only three extra months.
"For me and my soldiers, it has meant missing two of something."
For Lynch, the personal cost was missing two of his wife Sarah's birthdays.
"We've seen the progress in Iraq and we know what we're doing is improving things," he said. "But 15 months is hard. I'm excited about the extended dwell time of 15 to 18 months this time around."
Lynch and the 3rd ID were part of President Bush's 15-month troops surge in Iraq.
The Division was also among the first charged with implementing Gen. David Petraeus' Counterinsurgency Doctrine, which was adopted in late 2006, just as the 3rd ID was gearing up for deployment.
"It has been phenomenal watching this (the 3rd ID) organization operate," said Conrad Crane, director of the U.S. Military History Institute at the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
Crane contends that the Division, and U.S. forces as a whole, are "probably the most capable counterinsurgency force the world has ever seen."
Fighting a scattered insurgency is a charge that Maj. Gen. Michael Oates and the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y., have picked up and will carry for the next 12 months.
The 10th Mountain commander replaced Lynch and his soldiers in Baghdad.
Lynch is quick to note soldiers from the 3rd ID still remain in Iraq. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team is set to return stateside in late June, early July. The 4th Brigade's 15-month deployment ends in early 2009.
"They (10th Mountain) have hit the ground hard," Lynch said, adding that instead of focusing on security, which was his first priority, Oates' challenge is to focus on capacity building.
"You don't go from a tyranny to a democracy overnight," Lynch said.
Lynch said the three biggest threats to success in Iraq remain: Sunni extremists, traditionally affiliated with al-Qaida; Shiite extremists; and Iranian fighters influencing the insurgency.
"These are people who for whatever reason, are trying to stop progress in Iraq," Lynch said.
Lynch receives gift
Dozens of Red Cross and USO members were on hand to greet Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch as he returned to Hunter Army Airfield with 260-some soldiers from his Special Troops Battalion.
Among those greeting Lynch were Paulette Nelson and Mary Adams.
"I'm so happy to see the soldiers home," Nelson said, adding it's a great honor for her to see the soldiers come full circle, from deployment 15 months ago to their homecoming.
Adams, meanwhile, was busy putting the finishing touches on a little gift for Lynch: two stogies tied neatly together with a blue ribbon. She admits he is a fan of cigars and wanted to have something to offer him.
Moments later, as Lynch was making his way into the main processing center at Hunter, Adams presented her gift.
Lynch gladly accepted.
June 3, 2008 By Pamela E. Walck
The way Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch sees things, the 3rd Infantry Division's Special Troops Battalion - and the seven brigades it managed while commanding the Multi-National Division Command in Baghdad for the past 15 months - got the job done.
"We did our job," said Lynch, commanding general for the 3rd ID, during a press conference at Hunter Army Airfield on Monday afternoon.
"We killed or captured 6,000 insurgents," he said. "We went from 25 attacks a day to less than two ... and we turned what was called the 'Triangle of Death' into a triangle of life."
At the same time, Lynch noted the Division met its recruitment goals for 2008 in early March, developed fish farms across an area of operation the size of West Virginia, and left Iraq with a strong sense of accomplishment.
The achievements, he noted, came during a deployment that has taxed soldiers and families.
"Fifteen months is not as simple as 12 months plus three," he said. "It's too simplistic to say it's only three extra months.
"For me and my soldiers, it has meant missing two of something."
For Lynch, the personal cost was missing two of his wife Sarah's birthdays.
"We've seen the progress in Iraq and we know what we're doing is improving things," he said. "But 15 months is hard. I'm excited about the extended dwell time of 15 to 18 months this time around."
Lynch and the 3rd ID were part of President Bush's 15-month troops surge in Iraq.
The Division was also among the first charged with implementing Gen. David Petraeus' Counterinsurgency Doctrine, which was adopted in late 2006, just as the 3rd ID was gearing up for deployment.
"It has been phenomenal watching this (the 3rd ID) organization operate," said Conrad Crane, director of the U.S. Military History Institute at the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
Crane contends that the Division, and U.S. forces as a whole, are "probably the most capable counterinsurgency force the world has ever seen."
Fighting a scattered insurgency is a charge that Maj. Gen. Michael Oates and the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y., have picked up and will carry for the next 12 months.
The 10th Mountain commander replaced Lynch and his soldiers in Baghdad.
Lynch is quick to note soldiers from the 3rd ID still remain in Iraq. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team is set to return stateside in late June, early July. The 4th Brigade's 15-month deployment ends in early 2009.
"They (10th Mountain) have hit the ground hard," Lynch said, adding that instead of focusing on security, which was his first priority, Oates' challenge is to focus on capacity building.
"You don't go from a tyranny to a democracy overnight," Lynch said.
Lynch said the three biggest threats to success in Iraq remain: Sunni extremists, traditionally affiliated with al-Qaida; Shiite extremists; and Iranian fighters influencing the insurgency.
"These are people who for whatever reason, are trying to stop progress in Iraq," Lynch said.
Lynch receives gift
Dozens of Red Cross and USO members were on hand to greet Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch as he returned to Hunter Army Airfield with 260-some soldiers from his Special Troops Battalion.
Among those greeting Lynch were Paulette Nelson and Mary Adams.
"I'm so happy to see the soldiers home," Nelson said, adding it's a great honor for her to see the soldiers come full circle, from deployment 15 months ago to their homecoming.
Adams, meanwhile, was busy putting the finishing touches on a little gift for Lynch: two stogies tied neatly together with a blue ribbon. She admits he is a fan of cigars and wanted to have something to offer him.
Moments later, as Lynch was making his way into the main processing center at Hunter, Adams presented her gift.
Lynch gladly accepted.