Army may tap training units for combat duty in Iraq

[Kadie]

Army may tap training units for combat duty in Iraq

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
Last Updated: May 25, 2004, 01:31:52 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a sign of the Iraq war's strain on the U.S. military, the Army is planning to send into combat thousands of soldiers whose normal job is to play the role of the "enemy" at training ranges in California and Louisiana, defense officials said Tuesday.

The Pentagon also is considering adding yet another National Guard brigade, the 155th Separate Armored Brigade from Mississippi, to the mix of active-duty and reserve units designated for the next rotation of ground forces into Iraq this year and in early 2005, other Army officials said.

With nearly every other major combat unit either committed to or just returned from Iraq or Afghanistan, the Army is planning to call on two battalions and one engineer company - about 2,500 soldiers - from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, which serves as a professional enemy force in training other units at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. The regiment last saw combat in the Vietnam War.

The Army boasts of the "tough and uncompromising standards" of the 11th Armored Cavalry, which it says makes it the premier maneuver unit in the Army and "the yardstick against which the rest of the Army measures itself."

more... http://www.modbee.com/24hour/nation/story/1395033p-8659577c.html

[Ilsa]

1. Thanks. I nearly posted this.

But I couldn't find a good link on yahoo or something.

It looks like everyone who is in the service or reserves or NG is going to get a shot at going to Iraq.

[TheWraith]

2. Oh thank god

"thousands of soldiers whose normal job is to play the role of the "enemy" at training ranges"

At first, when I saw the headline, I thought it meant they were sending actual trainees, rather than trainers. Still, how far behind can that be?

[havocmom]

3. starting to feel a bit more drafty around here (n/t)

[Jacobin]

4. The Boy Scouts must be getting nervous

:scared:

[ajacobson]

5. The "Russians" are coming...

Great, we're sending our "Russians!" Actually, at NTC they are called OPFORS (opposition force) but back in the day they were equipped with Soviet equipment, weapons, etc. to lend an authentic flavor. Of course we're not getting ready for that war anymore.

When I first saw this story I thought to myself, my god, they are sending training units from boot camp. I had visions of Russian peasants in 1917 getting sent to the front with sticks because the Czarist army didn't have rifles for them.

The WSJ had a long story today about a Marine posthumously nominated for the Medal of Honor for laying on a grenade, saving his buddies.

I hate this fucking war.