Sign of problems in the military ranks?

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&ncid=716&e=5&u=/ap/20031219/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_us_army

Pentagon Adjusts Iraq Deployment Plans

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon (news - web sites) is sending an additional brigade of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division to Iraq (news - web sites) and extending the deployment there of another 82nd Airborne unit in what officials said Thursday is a minor adjustment to their plan for rotating fresh forces into Iraq next year.

Senior U.S. military officials said part of the 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne, which had not been scheduled for duty in Iraq, will begin heading there in January for a four-month tour. The 3rd Brigade of the 82nd, which was scheduled to depart Iraq in February, will remain until April.

The officials, who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity, said these moves were deemed necessary to maintain continuity during the rotation of forces, which runs from January to May.


There likely will be more changes to the overall rotation plan in the weeks ahead, the officials said.

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[Rex]

1. What the hell are they doing with the 82nd Airborne?

So they double the strengh of these type of troops and will rotate out the 3rd and 1st at the end of April. Sound like something is afoot. I don't think it is a 'problem' so much as that they are about to do something and need another Brigade for some kind of special operation.

[DarkPhenyx]

2. I think that it is that...

...they are running out of options and have to use who they have. If they were looking at another assault it would make far more sense to rotate another armored brigade in country and not a lightly outfitted airborne unit.

I think I agree with the original poster in that it looks more like they see trouble brewing in teh Resreve/Guard component and are trying to head it off before it gets even worse.

[NNN0LHI]

3. From CNN transcript - National Guard unit not ready to go yet

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0312/18/wbr.00.html

<snip>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, indeed, late breaking word here that many U.S. military families are about to get a very unwelcome Christmas present.

About 3,500 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, are getting word today, unexpectedly, that they will be going to Iraq right after the holidays.

Now these 3,500 troops, we are told by military officials, were not in the scheduled rotation to go to Iraq. But unexpectedly, they are going. And the reason is a National Guard unit from Washington State that was designated to go, it's been decided that they will stay back for awhile, get some additional training for the types of operations on the streets of Iraq that are needed to root out those insurgents, since it's no longer a combat operation.

So now about 3,500 troops, a brigade's worth from the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, families getting notified today, we are told, that their troops, that those soldiers, will be going to Iraq unexpectedly right after the Christmas holidays -- Wolf.

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[interceptor]

4. The Army's just friggin tired

Nearly everyone's seen duty over there so far. They're just having to shift things around in order to give some units more breaks than others to rebuild. The Navy's going through it as well...we've completely restructured our deployment cycles cause the ships need a break and some overhauls.

They have plenty of bodies over there, its just keeping the ones coming in to equal the ones coming out on the same level of training and readiness that's hard.