Schofield soldiers welcome news of Saddam's capture

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

The capture of Saddam Hussein is an early Christmas present for 4,800 Schofield Barracks soldiers deploying to Iraq in February.

But it won't take all the sting out of the dangerous deployment.

Capt. Bill Venable said the stunning capture of a haggard and disheveled Saddam eight months after Baghdad fell may cut the wind from the sails of Baathist loyalists behind some of the attacks on U.S. troops.

But he and other soldiers know there are a variety of factions in Iraq looking to do Americans harm.

"Military organizations are typically conservative and cautious, and I don't think it's going to change the way we look at our deployment," Venable said.

"But at the soldier level, it'll be generating a lot of conversation," said Venable, who commands Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment. "It's almost a sense of relief that we've taken another quantitative step forward in the democratization of Iraq."

With soldiers preparing for leave for the holidays — and for the 4,800 heading to Iraq and 3,500 more deploying to Afghanistan in April, it's a last chance for an extended break — Schofield Barracks was at a low level of activity yesterday.

But there was a flurry of phone calls from parents to deploying sons and daughters as the amazing news of Saddam's capture unfolded.

Pfc. Robby King's father called at 3 a.m.

"My dad told me, and I agree, he (Saddam) probably hasn't gotten a good night's sleep since March."

"Hopefully, it will help us," said King, 20, an infantryman going to Iraq with the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment.

King hopes there will be a return to the welcome American troops received after Saddam's government fell.

"I know the (attacks) won't stop altogether, but maybe they'll slow down so we can rebuild and don't have to be looking over our shoulders every two seconds," he said.

Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Manzanares, 33, who's with Charlie Company, 1-21, said the capture of Saddam is a "huge step forward," but the United States needs to keep being aggressive in hunting down opposition forces.

"I think if we continue to apply pressure — we kind of got lax there a bit — if we keep up the pressure less attacks will be made on us," Manzanares said. "I think we should take this, but keep up the offensive operations over there till the job is done."

Operation Iron Hammer, which began Nov. 12, has included air attacks near Baghdad.

Lt. Col. Scott Leith, battalion commander for about 600 1-27 "Wolfhounds," noted the cautious optimism of President Bush and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Although Sanchez said the capture represented "a great day for the Iraqi people and for the coalition," he added that he does not expect a complete elimination of attacks.

"I believe that those will continue for some time," Sanchez said, "but with the cooperation of all of the Iraqi people and our coalition, I believe that we are now very much closer to a safe and secure environment here in the country."

Leith said a lot of work remains.

"Certainly (the capture) is good news because they've kind of cut the head off the snake, but we'll see what's left," he said. "He (Saddam) was one man that made a huge difference not long ago. But how much has he been leading the effort in the past few months?"

A recent Congressional Research Service report noted that the United States faces a classic guerrilla war in which some elements wanted to restore the old regime while others appear motivated by opposition to foreign invaders.

The report identified the resistance as coming not only from remnants of the Baath Party, but also Arab volunteers who have come from other countries.

Col. Lloyd Miles, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Schofield, which is deploying in February, is in Iraq with the 4th Division.

About 600 of the division's soldiers and special operations forces carried out the mission to seize Saddam, which was accomplished without a shot being fired.

Miles is in Iraq "to start making coordinations as we arrive," said Leith, who is acting brigade commander.

Schofield soldiers are getting medical checkups, taking care of wills and other paperwork and starting to head off for Christmas leave.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.