General Says More Reservists May Be Headed To Iraq

[minibush1]

General Says More Reservists May Be Headed To Iraq

General Says More Reservists May Be Headed To Iraq
Decision To Be Made By Fall

POSTED: 1:58 p.m. CDT September 24, 2003
UPDATED: 5:44 p.m. CDT September 24, 2003

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon may be forced within several weeks to alert a large number of additional National Guard and Reserve troops for duty in Iraq, a senior general said Wednesday.

Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more reservists could be called upon if other countries do not soon pledge thousands more troops to form a third multinational division in Iraq.

"We need to be making decisions about alerting reservists over the next four to six weeks," he said. "I would think that by around the end of October or the beginning of November we should be alerting those forces that may need to be called up to relieve or be prepared to relieve (troops there now) if we don't have specificity by then on a third" multinational division.

He said the Guard and Reserve troops should be notified about four months before they would need to ship out because they require some training time.

When it announced a troop rotation plan in July, the Pentagon assumed that it would have available a third multinational division of 10,000 to 15,000 troops to replace the Army's 101st Airborne Division early next year.

Britain is leading one multinational division and Poland is leading another. Among nations mentioned as possibilities for a third division are Turkey, Pakistan, India and South Korea, but none has agreed to do so.

Pace said U.S. Central Command, which is running the military operation in Iraq, may determine that it can find enough active-duty troops to fill any gap next year. But he indicated that mobilizing more National Guard and Reserve troops was an option under active consideration.

"The entire population of the active force of the Marine Corps and the reserve force of the Marine Corps, and the Army and the National Guard and Reserves will be looked at" for possible duty, Pace said in an interview with a group of reporters at a Washington hotel.

There are now about 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, including several thousand Guard and Reserve forces. Current plans call for mobilizing two National Guard brigades for duty in Iraq this fall. The Pentagon had hoped that it would need to activate no National Guard units beyond that, but Pace said more could be alerted within weeks for possible deployment.

"What is not clear now ... is whether or not what we thought two months ago about the security environment (in Iraq) is still a valid projection, and then whether the coalition countries will or will not come up with a third division," he said.

"There are many countries out there talking about it, and we have every hope that that will happen," he said, "but hope is not a plan."

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I believe this is not to increase the total size of the force but to allow troops to rotate out. These guys need a break.

 

[Tripleshot]

Merry xmas reservests.:Q

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
I believe this is not to increase the total size of the force but to allow troops to rotate out. These guys need a break.

That is correct. Meanwhile the troop count in Iraq appears to be shrinking.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
I believe this is not to increase the total size of the force but to allow troops to rotate out. These guys need a break.

That is correct. Meanwhile the troop count in Iraq appears to be shrinking.

It does? I hadn't heard anything about a troop reduction...link please? Isn't 130,000 the level it has been since we "won"?

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
I believe this is not to increase the total size of the force but to allow troops to rotate out. These guys need a break.

That is correct. Meanwhile the troop count in Iraq appears to be shrinking.

It does? I hadn't heard anything about a troop reduction...link please? Isn't 130,000 the level it has been since we "won"?

USA today report a week or so ago that the number in iraq is about 115k.
And after we won i think the number was about 150k.

 

[Insane3D]

From the article listed above...

There are now about 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, including several thousand Guard and Reserve forces.

Edit:

And after we won i think the number was about 150k.

I think it was 150K total for the coalition, and only 130K US troops...same as now. Unless we get some more international troops, I just don't see us reducing our presence while Iraq is in it's current state. As time goes on and things hopefully improve, maybe...but not now IMO.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: Insane3D
From the article listed above...

There are now about 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, including several thousand Guard and Reserve forces.

Edit:

And after we won i think the number was about 150k.

I think it was 150K total for the coalition, and only 130K US troops...same as now. Unless we get some more international troops, I just don't see us reducing our presence with Iraq is in the state that it's in.

Linkage

USA Today reported on September 11, 2003 that a spokesman for CENTCOM stated that there were only 116,000 troops in Iraq, a significant reduction over last weeks total of 130,000 and last months 148,000. It is not clear who made up this reduction, as the bulk of the 3rd Infantry Division had been out of the area for some time though it may be possible that Marines comprise the bulk of the number.

 

[Insane3D]

It looks like I was wrong. Thanks for the info, it appears we have reduced our presence slightly, but I still think unless things start getting better and/or we get some international help, you won't see that number go any lower for at least the short term.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: Insane3D
It looks like I was wrong. Thanks for the info, it appears we have reduced our presence slightly, but I still think unless things start getting better and/or we get some international help, you won't see that number go any lower for at least the short term.

I think you might be surprised since in the past few months we have put 40,000 Iraqi cops on the streets.

 

[minibush1]

From The Washington Post
Tuesday, September 2, 2003
Number of Wounded in Action on Rise

With no fanfare and almost no public notice, giant C-17 transport jets arrive virtually every night at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, on medical evacuation missions. Since the war began, more than 6,000 service members have been flown back to the United States. The number includes the 1,124 wounded in action, 301 who received non-hostile injuries in vehicle accidents and other mishaps, and thousands who became physically or mentally ill.

"Our nation doesn't know that," said Susan Brewer, president and founder of America's Heroes of Freedom, a nonprofit organization that collects clothing and other personal items for the returning troops. "Sort of out of sight and out of mind."

 

[DealMonkey]

One weekend a month, my ass!

 

[Rogue]

DAMNIT! I just got done with almost 2 years of deployment time and I'm just getting back into the swing of my civilian job and education again.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: Rogue
DAMNIT! I just got done with almost 2 years of deployment time and I'm just getting back into the swing of my civilian job and education again.

Hopefully, you still can. Not sure who they are calling up.

 

[Rogue]

I'm a Military Policeman. If I'm available, they'll probably grab me. This mission is turning into almost a purely Military Police mission at this point. I'm pretty much deciding that I'm screwed unless I re-class to a different MOS.