Fort Hood spearheads force of 37,000
Posted on 01/21/2003 3:07:35 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Fort Hood spearheads force of 37,000
01/21/2003
More than 12,000 Texas soldiers, part of a 37,000-strong task force, have been ordered to the Persian Gulf region to prepare for a possible war with Iraq, officials said Monday.
Task Force Ironhorse is the largest ground force announced so far among an estimated 125,000 U.S. troops ordered to deploy since Christmas Eve by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"We're just packing things right now," said Lt. Col. Bill MacDonald, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, which is sending nearly 12,500 troops. "Our soldiers are ready, they're well-trained, and their morale is high."
The 4th Infantry - which includes the Fort Hood troops as well as about 4,000 at Fort Carson, Colo. - will be spearheading the task force, officials said. It is considered the Army's most lethal, modern and deployable heavy division.
AP Troops with the 4th Infantry Division prepare a tank for deployment at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. "Our soldiers are ready, they're well-trained, and their morale is high," said Lt. Col. Bill MacDonald, a spokesman at the base. |
In addition, troops from 10 other Army installations around the country are being deployed, officials said, including more than 300 soldiers from Fort Bliss, near El Paso. About 1,100 soldiers from Fort Bliss are already in the Persian Gulf region.
Monday's orders came amid several international developments regarding a possible war with Iraq.
In London, British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon announced that a land force of 26,000 troops - nearly a quarter of Britain's army - had been ordered to the Persian Gulf region. The country has already sent 8,000 troops.
In Turkey, immediately north of Iraq, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with military leaders to discuss the possibility of basing American troops in that country. So far, Turkish political leaders have been lukewarm about the idea.
"Turkey has been a very cooperative partner," Gen. Myers said in Ankara, the Turkish capital. "I would expect them to be in the future as well."
U.S. officials said Monday that some or all of the 37,000 soldiers in Task Force Ironhorse might be deployed to Turkey if arrangements are worked out to overcome the Turkish government's reluctance to host a large U.S. force.
The only country in the gulf where large numbers of American troops have been assembling is Kuwait, where 12,000 U.S. soldiers are engaged in training for desert warfare.
In Washington, Mr. Rumsfeld dismissed suggestions Monday that U.N. weapons inspectors would need months of additional time to determine whether Iraq is meeting its obligation to disarm.
"The U.N. resolution put the burden directly on Iraq to prove that it is disarming and that it does not have these weapons or, if it does, it is willing to give them up," Mr. Rumsfeld said at a Reserve Officers Association conference. "Thus far, Iraq has been unwilling to do so."
While emphasizing that President Bush prefers a peaceful solution in Iraq, Mr. Rumsfeld said the way to avoid war is to be convinced by Iraq that it has finally decided to cooperate with the U.N. weapons inspectors.
Last Friday, the U.N.'s top nuclear inspector, Mohamed el-Baradei, said "a few more months" of inspections would be worthwhile if it meant avoiding war.
Mr. Rumsfeld also dismissed the idea that the United States might be forced to act alone against Iraq if the U.N. Security Council does not authorize an offensive.
"Let there be no doubt, there are large numbers of countries that are signed up to be helpful in the event that force is needed in dealing with Iraq," he said.
Across the country at Fort Hood, the nation's largest military post, officials said the mood Monday was calm as troops prepared to leave.
Citing security reasons, Lt. Col. MacDonald would not say when troops would be deployed. But he did say that soldiers were working later than usual that night, preparing for the deployment.
"We're ready to move on short notice," he added.
Nicknamed the Ivy Division, the 4th Infantry has some of the Army's most sophisticated information-gathering and command-and-control equipment, including M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, Apache attack helicopters and other highly mobile fighting forces, Lt. Col. MacDonald said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
E-mail lstrickland@dallasnews.com
Task Force Ironhorse is the largest ground force announced so far among an estimated 125,000 U.S. troops ordered to deploy since Christmas Eve by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"We're just packing things right now," said Lt. Col. Bill MacDonald, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, which is sending nearly 12,500 troops. "Our soldiers are ready, they're well-trained, and their morale is high."
The 4th Infantry – which includes the Fort Hood troops as well as about 4,000 at Fort Carson, Colo. – will be spearheading the task force, officials said. It is considered the Army's most lethal, modern and deployable heavy division.
< snip >
Monday's orders came amid several international developments regarding a possible war with Iraq...
*Flashback*
...boney fingers !
That isn't Iraq, right? Where might that be?...
The newslady definitely said SE Asia. Maybe it was a simple Freudian slip and not deja vu.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
