In Iraq
New troop rotation to Iraq includes about 43,000 Marines
By Otto Kreisher
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
4:11 p.m. November 6, 2003
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon on Thursday announced a troop replacement plan for Iraq and Afghanistan that will send more than 43,000 Marines and sailors, 2,000 Air Force personnel and about 47,000 National Guard and Reserve soldiers to relieve thinly stretched Army units next year.
The Marines, who will come primarily from the San Diego-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, will be sent in two contingents of about 21,300 for seven-month tours in Iraq beginning in January.
They will be responsible for security, stability and reconstruction missions in the western half of Iraq, currently occupied by the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. Although most of the vast area is lightly populated it includes the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, which have seen some of the bloodiest resistance to U.S. occupation.
In announcing the assignments for the second year of the Iraqi occupation, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said additional mobilization of Guard and Reserve personnel can be expected.
Although Rumsfeld denied the heavy use of the Guard and Reserves proved that the Army was too small, the total force plan for next year in Iraq shows a significant shift toward the part-time warriors.
The current U.S. force in Iraq of about 130,000 includes 29,000 Army Guard and Reserve personnel. Pentagon officials said the new Iraq force will total about 105,000, of which 39,000 will be members of the reserves.
Rumsfeld said the reservists "are doing the job that they, each one of them, volunteered to do," and "are doing an absolutely superb job for the country."
Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that the U.S. armed forces "are structured around the Reserve component. We can't go to war, to conflict, without them."
But Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-San Diego, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said: "I've recommended for the last several years, every since we drew down the Army to 10 divisions from 18 that we needed more. I think we need to have at least a couple more."
Rumsfeld said that while the U.S. forces will be reduced, total security forces in Iraq will increase because of the training of additional Iraqi police and army personnel. The secretary said the U.S. forces could be reduced further if the security situation improves or if allies send more troops to bolster the two international divisions now in Iraq.
The initial Marine force is expected to deploy to Iraq by March and will include about 1,500 Marine Reservists. That force will be replaced late next year by another 21,000-strong contingent that will include 4,500 Marine Reservists.
Marine officials said the command elements and the bulk of the Marines heading to Iraq will come from the 1st Marine Division, the 1st Force Service Support Group and helicopter units of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, most of which are based at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. But the California units will be bolstered by Marines from around the world, said Lt. Gen. Jan Huly, assistant commandant for plans, policies and operations.
The Navy said about 1,500 sailors, active and reserve, will be sent to Iraq. That number includes Navy medical personnel assigned to the Marine units, plus security and cargo-handling units. Navy spokesmen said orders have not been issued for the Iraq deployment and they could not say what units would be assigned and how many would be from the Navy Reserves. Most of the cargo-handling units are in the reserves.
The major Army National Guard units being dispatched to Iraq are the 30th Brigade, with personnel from North Carolina, West Virginia and New York; the 39th Brigade, from Arkansas, and the 81st Brigade, with troops from Washington and California. Active Army units going to Iraq include the 1st Infantry Division, the 1st Cavalry Division and a brigade of the 25th Infantry Division. Another brigade of the 25th will deploy to Afghanistan to replace the 10th Mountain Division brigade. About 3,700 Army Reserve or National Guard troops will go to Afghanistan, Rumsfeld said. Many of the Marines being sent to Iraq were there for the war and returned home as recently as three months ago.
Huly said the Marines planned to continue their normal deployment schedule despite the new commitment for Iraq.
"Marines are used to deploying," he said. "That's what we do."
Huly said the Marines were going to Iraq for seven months because that fit in best with their standard training and deployment schedule.
The Army units will be in Iraq for a year. That means the Guard and Reserve units will be activated for about 18 months, Rumsfeld said. Huly conceded that Marines normally are considered a "forcible entry" force, rather than a peacekeeping or stability organization. But, he said, once ashore they can do the other missions.
The Marines occupied much of the southeastern sector of Iraq from the end of major fighting until the last unit left in September. While the Army was losing scores of soldiers to the armed resistance, the Marines did not lose anyone to hostile action during the occupation.
[ Last edited by mei on 2003-11-7 at 09:33 ]
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