3rd ID is coming home

[charrison]

linkage

In testimony before the Senate armed services committee, Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, said the division's third brigade had already reached Kuwait and would be back in the US this month.

The second brigade would return in August and the first brigade would make the journey back in September. He said each of the final two brigades to leave Iraq would have been in the Gulf region for 10 months by the time they departed.

But it was not immediately clear how the 3rd ID would be replaced. The US believes the current military presence in Iraq - which involves some 145,000 US soldiers and around 19,000 coalition troops - is to be expected for the "foreseeable future", as senior military officials have said.

 

[TheBDB]

They sure deserve to come home.

 

[lozina]

Yes, bring them all home. Don't need to lose more of our sons and daughters to this lost cause.

 

[burnedout]

But it was not immediately clear how the 3rd ID would be replaced.

1 CAV maybe?

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: burnedout

But it was not immediately clear how the 3rd ID would be replaced.

1 CAV maybe?

It is possible. I dont think they need 2 heavy divisions to do peacekeeping until things further stabilize.

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

I think the government is between a rock and hard place. They really want to avoid another public call up of reserves but rotating the 3rd ID out will require a significant deployment of US-based troops or a major shift in forces from multiple foreign bases.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: BaliBabyDoc
I think the government is between a rock and hard place. They really want to avoid another public call up of reserves but rotating the 3rd ID out will require a significant deployment of US-based troops or a major shift in forces from multiple foreign bases.

That all depends on well new iraqi police training is going. City goverment is slowly coming back and I doubt M1s and bradleys leave a good impression on the locals for routine patrols.

 

[CaptnKirk]

1st Cav from Fort Hood, Texas is being tagged as the group to replace them.

 

[UltraQuiet]

So much for Op/Sec.

 

[tnitsuj]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: BaliBabyDoc
I think the government is between a rock and hard place. They really want to avoid another public call up of reserves but rotating the 3rd ID out will require a significant deployment of US-based troops or a major shift in forces from multiple foreign bases.

That all depends on well new iraqi police training is going. City goverment is slowly coming back and I doubt M1s and bradleys leave a good impression on the locals for routine patrols.

Best estimates are at least a year before a real Iraqi police force is in place, and they certainly will not be capable of controlling the whole country. General Franks yesterday said that for the forseeable future US military strength will have to at least remain the same in Iraq, and I think he would be in a pretty good position to know.

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

So much for Op/Sec.