Troops Iraq-Bound in January

COL Ted Mc — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 13:30:14 -0500

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/warfare/2014/12/19/iraq-isis-deploy/20643829/

1,000 82nd Airborne Troops Iraq-Bound in January

WASHINGTON — One thousand soldiers from the famed 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team will deploy to Iraq in January to begin training Iraqi and Kurdish brigades, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby announced Friday.

The 1,000 are part of 1,300 service members in total heading for Iraq next month, with the remaining 300 coming from multiple services and serving in counterintelligence, logistics and signals capacities, Kirby said.

Overall, 1,500 US troops are heading for Iraq in early 2015 to serve what are expected to be nine-month tours to train and assist nine Iraqi Army and three Kurdish Peshmerga brigades at several undisclosed sites across Iraq.

While those 1,500 US troops will bring the US contingent in Iraq to about 3,100 troops, they may be joined by as many as 1,500 additional forces from partner nations, according to senior US defense officials.

EDITORIAL COMMENT:- Now that the elections are all over, am I allowed to say "I told you so."? [PS - Tranches 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 will follow shortly.]

1,000 82nd Airborne Troops Iraq-Bound in January

WASHINGTON—One thousand soldiers from the famed 82nd Airborne Division will deploy to Iraq in January to begin training Iraqi and Kurdish forces

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 26 at 2014 1:38 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 13:38:09 -0500

I knew it was coming to troops on the ground again.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 26 at 2014 2:16 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 14:16:24 -0500

Shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone. Unless you have been sleeping under a rock. Would be nice to have a clear and precise objective. We have been pretty lucky so far that only two deaths have been related to this newest endeavor into nowhere land. But I'm afraid if we keep going with this no ground troops strategy there will be more.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 27 at 2014 9:39 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 09:39:05 -0500

That's not a surprise, mission was accomplished but not the job.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 27 at 2014 10:55 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 10:55:23 -0500

Sir: Mission creep seems inevitable, especially for a military like ours that has in essence been at war in Iraq since 1990. To be more specific to my point, since our senior-most leaders were junior field grade officers, we've in essence been at war in Iraq. Being at war in Iraq is what the U.S. military knows how to do. Whether the U.S. military knows how to fight a war in Iraq--well, that's a separate question; fortunately we have 25 years of history to look at to answer that question. It might be too early to make a definitive assessment. An assessment conducted now might suggest that the U.S. military knows how to win a war in Iraq, but that the U.S. doesn't quite get how to win the peace in Iraq.

Regarding some of the other points on this thread, I'd agree that ever since before World War I--and especially since the Paris Peace Conference of 1919---Western intervention in the region has been futile. We're still dealing with the ramifications of the end-of-empires (the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire) in the region, and the false borders drawn and false governments created by Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George, and Georges Clemenceau. Iraq doesn't work as a concept; the false borders drawn in 1919 ensured this would be the case.

Response by Sgt Adam Jennings made Dec 27 at 2014 2:50 PM

Sgt Adam Jennings — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 14:50:49 -0500

I guess the Iraqis have figured out this time that they need us there until they're truly stable. I hope anyway.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Dec 27 at 2014 3:23 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 15:23:33 -0500

God Speed!

Response by PO2 Corey Ferretti made Dec 27 at 2014 5:00 PM

PO2 Corey Ferretti — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 17:00:47 -0500

I called it like 6 months ago that we would have troops back on the ground by the end of the year. We should of never left in the first place like we did. We should of had a set number of troops stay back to help wiht security and training. I know it was not our call Iraq did not want to sign a SOFA agreement hope they are smart enough to now.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 27 at 2014 5:13 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 17:13:37 -0500

We didn't see this coming, said no one ever. Looking forward to heading back to Afghanistan in 2017.