Posted on 09/25/2006 8:49:55 AM PDT by TexKat
WASHINGTON - In a new sign of mounting strain from the war in Iraq, the Army has extended the combat tours of about 4,000 soldiers who would otherwise be returning home, defense officials said Monday.
The 1st Brigade of 1st Armored Division, which is operating in the vicinity of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, will be kept in place for several weeks beyond its scheduled departure, the officials said. The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been formally announced by the Pentagon.
The brigade's home base is in Germany. The soldiers' families were notified on Monday that instead of going home in early January as scheduled, the brigade would be kept in Iraq until February — an extension of about six weeks, one of the officials said. Army officials also have notified members of Congress.
The brigade has about 4,000 soldiers in Iraq. They are not the first to be extended.
In late July the Army extended the Iraq tour of the Alaska-based 172nd Stryker Brigade. About 300 soldiers from that unit had already returned home and were required to go back to Iraq. The brigade is now operating in Baghdad.
The reasons for these extensions are different, but they both reflect the fact that the Army is hard pressed now to maintain rotations for Iraq and Afghanistan at the current pace. The 172nd was extended by four months in order to strengthen U.S. forces in Baghdad, where commanders are trying to avert a full-scale civil war.
The 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division was extended in order to allow its replacement unit, the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, a minimum 12 months between overseas tours, the official said. The 3rd Infantry has already served two tours in Iraq, including the initial invasion of the country in March 2003.
Last week, the top American commander in the region said the U.S. military is likely to maintain and may even increase its force of more than 140,000 troops in Iraq through next spring. Gen. John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said military leaders would consider adding troops or extending the Iraq deployments of other units if needed.
Until sectarian violence spiked early this year, Bush administration officials had voiced hopes that this election year would see significant U.S. troop reductions in what has become a widely unpopular war.
The Army has a stated goal of giving active-duty soldiers two years at home between overseas combat tours, but it is unable to achieve that "dwell time," as the Army calls, because it does not have enough brigades to meet the demands of simultaneous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would not be a problem now if the situation in Iraq had improved enough to allow the Army to reduce its presence as originally planned.
Army Secretary Francis Harvey told The Associated Press last week that the amount of time between deployments has shrunk this year from 18 months to 14 months. In the case of the 3rd Infantry, it appears at least one brigade will get only about 12 months because it is heading for Iraq to replace the extended brigade of the 1st Armored.
A U.S. soldier stands guard on a road in Baghdad in this September 16, 2006 file photo.The U.S. Army is considering whether to add more combat units to the rotation plan to meet a top commander's decision to keep more than 140,000 troops in the country until at least mid-2007, The Washington Times reported on Monday. (Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters)
The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity (BECAUSE HE WAS A CLINTOON HOLDOVER DEMOC*RAT* SHILL)...
Many, many prayers and blessings to the soldiers and their families for serving our country...
and of course the RATS will publicize this for all its worth ahead of the election. The military should have kept it quiet.
May God bless and be with our brave men and women and bring them back to us safely.
Is what he said, not true?
God bless our troops and help our forces grow their ranks of trained manpower.
I know a half dozen of these folks. They are bummed but they will be fine.
Any more speculation would probably violate the loose lips rule.
NO - leaking it without context during a campaign was my point. To be used more as a MSM soundbite to bash the president rather than for actual information to those affected. (IMHBLO - in my humble but loud opionion)
2 Fort Lewis Soldiers Wounded In Iraq By Friendly Fire
POSTED: 8:54 am PDT September 25, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Civilian security contractors wounded two Fort Lewis soldiers in friendly fire in western Baghdad during the weekend.
One soldier was shot in the leg, and the other was hit in the face with shrapnel while trying to stop an ambush on a supply convoy the contractors were guarding.
The company commander said the injuries were minor and that both soldiers are expected to return to duty quickly.
The Army hasn't announced the names of the wounded soldiers pending notification of their families. They are part of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, the combat team of Strykers that returned to Iraq from Fort Lewis this summer.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/9928453/detail.html
Anyone that lives near a military base or has relatives in the military, knew this without any press leaks.
Not to mention- the VC used to use announcements like this to target attacks meant to help create propaganda. IED more specifically targeted than usual in hopes to create a "He was originally scheduled to come home several weeks ago but..." just before elections. The enemy KNOWS our politics. They KNOW our MSM. They are allied with the opposition (for now) in this country.
"and of course the RATS will publicize this for all its worth ahead of the election. The military should have kept it quiet."
Great idea. Let these soliders and their families keep thinking they're coming home, making plans and so on. Is this really how you want to treat our heroes?
the soldiers and their families obviously would know when they were coming home. There was no need to announce it to the rest of the world. It's very suspicious how this was done. The other poster who said something about Clinton holdovers may have been close to the truth.
233rd faces 5th tour
Benning units rotate in and out of war postings
BY MICK WALSH
Staff Writer
Sometimes lost in the publicity that often accompanies the wartime deployment and subsequent return of large Fort Benning units like the 3rd Brigade Combat Team is the fact that several other of the post's outfits are either on the way to war or on their way back.
Take, for example, the 233rd Heavy Equipment Transport Platoon, which is scheduled to depart Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah this morning for Kuwait City.
"Sometimes they do miss out on the recognition," said 1st Lt. Kendra Keiser of Jennings, La., the 233rd's platoon leader, as the group left Fort Benning Friday for Savannah. "Especially since this is the group's fifth six-month rotation and the fifth time they'll miss both Thanksgiving and Christmas with their families."
Keiser also said that almost 90 percent of the 64 soldiers involved in the deployment are going back for their fourth or fifth time. "That includes my platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Karl Lyles."
The 233rd, which will hook up with sister units from Fort Knox, Ky., and Fort Stewart to form the 233rd Transportation Company, will be charged with transporting troops and equipment from the port of Kuwait deep into the heart of Iraq.
"And when it's time for them to redeploy," said Keiser, "we'll bring them back to Kuwait."
During their past rotation, the company performed almost flawlessly, driving more than 45,000 miles while getting involved in only three incidents with the enemy.
"We were very fortunate last time," said the University of Louisiana-Lafayette graduate, who is making her second trip to the desert. "I hope we're not involved in any incidents this time."
Keiser spent much of Friday talking to the families of the departing soldiers, reassuring them that all are well-trained and for the most part quite experienced.
While one component of the 13th Corps Support Battalion is on its way to war, another is due back at Fort Benning next week. The 608th Ordnance Company is scheduled to return to post next Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, yet another Fort Benning group has its bags packed.
While the timetable for the departure of soldiers from the 92nd Military Police Battalion to Iraq hasn't been finalized, there will be a deployment ceremony for the unit at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday inside Infantry Hall.
The 92nd MP Battalion is composed of the 988th Military Police Company, which is supporting combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; the 209th Military Police Detachment; and the 152nd Military Police Company.
Another deployed unit -- the 690th Medical Company, part of the 14th Combat Support Hospital, is on its way home. They're expected to arrive here on Oct. 1.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/15588773.htm
"I know a half dozen of these folks. They are bummed but they will be fine."
Please tell them, we truly appreciate their service for our country, and we are praying for them and their families...
"I have two kids in the Army and one Son-in-Law. Their attitude about Iraq is not like it was during Vietnam. I will say this, the continual deployments is hard on families. Officers that have 10 or more years are getting out because of family pressures, and multiple deployments."
Many prayers and blessings for your soldiers and their families. Their mamas and daddy's taught them the allegiance to the United States, which many others seem to be lacking....
It's all crap. Calling the conflict a "civil war" relegates everything to a futile waste of our military and we know, by now, that any attempt to do that is playing the terrorists propaganda tune.
So long as outside nation states fuel this armed conflict with soldiers weapons ,materiel and finacial support of the enormity this one is being supported with, then characterizing the conflict as a "civil war" is an outright enemy lie and all supporters of this masquerade are enemy participants...including our own MSM.
Supporting the enemy in war time is an executable offense. Better get your wills in order suckers.
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