Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Miami Herald
November 18, 2006
The Pentagon told 57,000 soldiers to prepare for duty in Iraq beginning early next year. For many, it's not the first time.
By Drew Brown
WASHINGTON-- The Pentagon announced Friday that elements of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division will return to Iraq early next year, the first time that a U.S. military unit has been alerted for a third yearlong combat tour in the war.
Some Marines and soldiers, particularly airborne and special operations forces, have served more than three tours of duty in Iraq, but they've generally been for shorter periods than the one-year deployments that most big Army ground units serve.
Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's headquarters, based at Fort Stewart, Ga., and the 3rd Brigade, based at Fort Benning, Ga., are among the 57,000 soldiers whom the Pentagon notified for deployment to Iraq starting next year.
About 20,000 of those troops will come from Army units based in Georgia, Kansas, Washington, North Carolina and Italy. Those units include:
*4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
*4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
*1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
*173rd Airborne Brigade, Vicenza, Italy.
An additional 27,000 active-duty and 10,000 reserve soldiers from smaller combat and service support units have been informed that they'll also deploy. The Pentagon didn't identify the smaller units.
The Pentagon also said that 1,500 troops from South Carolina's 218th Combat Brigade Team will be sent to Afghanistan in early 2007. In addition, 6,200 active-duty troops and 600 reservists in smaller units will be deployed to Afghanistan.
With the conflict in Iraq about to enter its fourth year, Friday's announcement illustrated how pressed the Army is to keep providing enough troops for combat duty.
The Army has a plan to ensure that active-duty soldiers spend at least one year at home between combat tours and that National Guard and reserve troops spend no more than one year out of every five on deployment. But the Army has had difficulty meeting those criteria. Many soldiers with the 3rd Infantry Division returned home from their second combat tour in Iraq in early 2006.
The announcement also marks the second combat tour for other units, including the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which served in Iraq in 2003. And though this deployment will be the first for the 1st Infantry Division's new 4th Brigade, its 1st Brigade is already serving its second tour in Iraq.
This will be the first combat deployment for the 2nd Infantry Division's new 4th Brigade, a Stryker combat team that was formed last January.
November 18, 2006
The Pentagon told 57,000 soldiers to prepare for duty in Iraq beginning early next year. For many, it's not the first time.
By Drew Brown
WASHINGTON-- The Pentagon announced Friday that elements of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division will return to Iraq early next year, the first time that a U.S. military unit has been alerted for a third yearlong combat tour in the war.
Some Marines and soldiers, particularly airborne and special operations forces, have served more than three tours of duty in Iraq, but they've generally been for shorter periods than the one-year deployments that most big Army ground units serve.
Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's headquarters, based at Fort Stewart, Ga., and the 3rd Brigade, based at Fort Benning, Ga., are among the 57,000 soldiers whom the Pentagon notified for deployment to Iraq starting next year.
About 20,000 of those troops will come from Army units based in Georgia, Kansas, Washington, North Carolina and Italy. Those units include:
*4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
*4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
*1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
*173rd Airborne Brigade, Vicenza, Italy.
An additional 27,000 active-duty and 10,000 reserve soldiers from smaller combat and service support units have been informed that they'll also deploy. The Pentagon didn't identify the smaller units.
The Pentagon also said that 1,500 troops from South Carolina's 218th Combat Brigade Team will be sent to Afghanistan in early 2007. In addition, 6,200 active-duty troops and 600 reservists in smaller units will be deployed to Afghanistan.
With the conflict in Iraq about to enter its fourth year, Friday's announcement illustrated how pressed the Army is to keep providing enough troops for combat duty.
The Army has a plan to ensure that active-duty soldiers spend at least one year at home between combat tours and that National Guard and reserve troops spend no more than one year out of every five on deployment. But the Army has had difficulty meeting those criteria. Many soldiers with the 3rd Infantry Division returned home from their second combat tour in Iraq in early 2006.
The announcement also marks the second combat tour for other units, including the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which served in Iraq in 2003. And though this deployment will be the first for the 1st Infantry Division's new 4th Brigade, its 1st Brigade is already serving its second tour in Iraq.
This will be the first combat deployment for the 2nd Infantry Division's new 4th Brigade, a Stryker combat team that was formed last January.