Army brigade readies for Iraq deployment

[ECH1969]

An Army brigade whose deployment to Iraq was put on hold just last month is now preparing to ship its vehicles and other equipment for an expected one-year tour of duty, a defense official said Wednesday.

The move suggests that American commanders are sticking largely to their original plan for troop rotations this summer, leaving unclear when and if a sizable reduction in U.S. troop levels will begin this year.

On May 8, the Pentagon announced that the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division, based at Schweinfurt, Germany, would not begin its deployment to Iraq as scheduled. It said the brigade, with about 3,500 soldiers, was receiving a revised deployment date but did not disclose the date. It also said the delayed deployment reflected a desire by U.S. commanders to assess the security situation and consult with Iraqi officials.

Since then violence, including sectarian strife, has not abated. The new Iraqi government also has yet to select ministers of defense or interior - who would oversee the Iraqi army and police.

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/politics/14761963.htm

[saigon68]

1. Hope you like your one week-end a month, boys

Remember the Halliburton Profits you are guaranteeing
are important to our stockholders and

"FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH"

[jmowreader]

3. This is an active duty brigade

No one weekend a month action for these guys; being in the army is what they do.

[saigon68]

4. Oops sorry boys when are you going to re-up for the bennies

[Joe for Clark]

2. The strykers out of FT Lewis going back now too.

Guess no summer draw down. Maybe the opposite.

Joe

[MercutioATC]

5. That's my cousin's brigade...

Damn.

[Joe for Clark]

6. Its my kids unit.

They are going back alright.

They have this newsletter they email to you.

And by the way - under this president there isn't a whole lot of difference between Guard and regulars. How f*cked up is that.

Joe

[MercutioATC]

7. Best of luck to your son/daughter.

I thought we might have gotten lucky, but it was only for about a month.

Where do you sign up for that newsletter?

[Joe for Clark]

8. They give it to family. We didn't sign up for it.

They just send it to you, via email.

I thought, maybe they wouldn't send him back, if there was some kind of draw down coming.

They're going back.

You know those stryker units are offensive units - why are we sending offensive units to the region if the circumstances are remotely stable???

Thanks for you thoughts.

Joe

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. I guess Iran is off

and we're hunkering down in Iraq instead.

[Rex]

10. And how many divisions do we have left of infantry in-country?

I realize the guys are in Germany, are they relieving a home bound brigade? That's it, just clean the entire country out of combat troops. Yeah, right, Bush is making us so much safer here at home... :eyes:

We sent 500,000 troops in GW I and that was just to destroy Saddam's Army, how in the fuck are 130,000 supposed to hold a country of 26 million for 5 years? You need at least 1,000,000 on the ground soldiers and marines and that ain't ever happening.

Bring em home now.

[Joe for Clark]

11. Yes, bring them home now.

Joe

[Orsino]

12. Damn it.

I know a brand-new soldier in the 1-18, just out of Ft. Benning last summer. We were thrilled when the deployment got put off a month ago, but it looks like this is the proverbial "it."

Damn it.