Brigade CO: No winter lull in Afghan fighting

[unhappycamper]

Brigade CO: No winter lull in Afghan fighting
By David Mercer - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Mar 5, 2009 20:44:16 EST

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The commander of the roughly 3,000 Illinois National Guard soldiers in Afghanistan said Thursday that the relatively mild winter there has meant little slowdown in fighting for his troops, eight of whom have died in combat.

As many members of the 33rd Infantry Brigade have died since the unit began arriving in Afghanistan last September as the New York National Guard brigade it replaced lost during that unit’s nine-month stay.

Five of the Illinois deaths were in January and February, a period when U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan increased threefold compared to the first two months of 2008.

As the United States prepares to commit more troops to the war in Afghanistan, Col. Scott Thoele, the Illinois brigade’s commander, says the deaths of their comrades make his troops more cautious as they travel the countryside training Afghan soldiers and police.

“We have taken our share of hits,” a weary-sounding Thoele said from Kabul, Afghanistan, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “We all knew that was going to be the case, but doing the actual memorial ceremonies, which we just did one tonight again for Sgt. Robinson, it’s tough. It’s hard.”


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/03/ap_afghanistan_guard_fighting_030509/%2e