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thedrifter
12-27-06, 01:56 PM
December 27, 2006
Paratroopers to replace Marines in Kuwait

By Gina Cavallaro
Staff writer

Army paratroopers will replace the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit early next month as U.S. Central Command’s call-forward force, defense officials announced today.

The 3,000-strong 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade, based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., will deploy in early January. It will replace the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 15th MEU, which moved from its call-forward position in Kuwait into Iraq’s Anbar province in November.

The Marines will leave Iraq, although CentCom officials would not say when. “Marines will come out,” said CentCom spokesman Air Force Capt. Gary Aracin. “They went in with a particular timeline and, at least at this point, they will be on that mission.”

More than 3,000 Army paratroopers — some of whom returned from Iraq only two weeks ago — will be in Kuwait by mid-January in an “on-call” capacity for duty in Iraq or Afghanistan.

“This is General [John] Abizaid’s way of putting flexibility back into Multi-National Corps-Iraq’s operational window,” division spokesman Army Maj. Tom Earnhardt said in reference to the commander of U.S. Central Command. “The 82nd is by its nature flexible and adaptable. So when a commander needs flexibility, they’re going call the 82nd.”

The 3,300-strong unit last deployed as a full brigade three years ago and has deployed several times since then in task force organizations.

The 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment — the “Red Falcons” — redeployed two weeks ago from a five-month tour in Iraq and will return to theater in January with the rest of the brigade, Earnhardt said, acknowledging that the quick turnaround has not been met favorably by some families.

“Obviously, we’re concerned about this rapid turnaround facing these paratroopers and their families, but the soldiers are going to be committed to the mission first, and their morale is high and we don’t expect that to change,” Earnhardt said. “We are grateful they were able to enjoy Christmas with their families, and we’re mindful that many families affected by the hardships of deployment may not understand the requirements facing the division.”

A recommendation in the report released by the Iraq Study Group calls for a temporary increase in troops in Iraq to help control sectarian violence while Iraqi security forces are trained. However, the military said this deployment is not in response to that recommendation.

The brigade will be designated as the “theater commander’s call-forward force,” Army spokesman Lt. Col. Carl Ey said Wednesday. “As such, it will provide necessary theater capability and flexibility should its capability be needed.”

The deployment is scheduled to last through September or “until the mission is completed, whichever is earlier,” Ey said.

The 15th MEU replaced the 2nd Armored Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which deployed in November 2005 for its rotation in Iraq and stayed in Kuwait for at least five months as a theater reserve brigade, the first to be given that mission since operations began in Iraq in March 2003.

“The call-forward force provides necessary theater capability and flexibility to the commander of U.S. Central Command, not limited to supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Ey said. “We have consistently stated that force levels in Iraq continue to be conditions-based and are determined based on the recommendations of military commanders in Iraq and in consultation with the Iraqi government. U.S. force rotations will be tailored based upon changes in the security situation.”

Staff writer Kimberly Johnson contributed to this story.

Ellie