Schofield Barracks units ordered to Iraq

By Mike Gordon and William Cole
Advertiser Staff Writers

Soldiers at Schofield Barracks are preparing for their most dangerous and lengthy assignments in decades after receiving new deployment orders yesterday that will send many of them to Iraq.

Soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division (Light) have been training at Schofield Barracks for deployment to either Iraq or Afghanistan early in 2004. Pfc. Danny Shedd, above, checks the sights of his M249 automatic weapon. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Despite the risks of ambushes and increasingly organized attacks, some soldiers heading to Iraq yesterday said they are eager for the assignment.

"Myself and a few of my friends, we watch CNN and see all the ambushes, (but) this morning, when we were told by the company commander that we were going, there were just cheers coming from the platoon," said Sgt. Anthony Waters, who's with A Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment — the Wolfhounds.

Waters, 22, said the boobytraps or "improvised explosive devices" that regularly kill soldiers in Iraq are a "huge worry."

"I've got troops that are married, and the thought of not bringing one of them home is terrifying enough," Waters said. "But we'll just go out there and face the danger. I believe we're trained. We're proficient in our jobs."

For the 25th Infantry Division (Light), which was largely kept back from Afghanistan and Iraq for a Korean contingency, the combat deployment is the biggest since the Vietnam War.

Two brigades from the 25th Division had been planning since July for six-month deployments next year to Afghanistan.

But the new orders will send a larger-than-planned contingent to Iraq in February and a second contingent to Afghanistan in April, about four months sooner than originally scheduled. Until yesterday, the division was expecting back-to-back six-month assignments in Afghanistan for both brigades beginning in February.

In Iraq, the Schofield soldiers will augment the 1st Marine Division, the Pentagon announced yesterday. The division will serve in an area now patrolled by the 82nd Airborne Division in the western part of Iraq. The area includes part of the Sunni triangle, a collection of towns including Fallujah that have been hotspots of resistance.

Two soldiers from the 82nd Airborne were killed and two were wounded yesterday and Wednesday when a military truck struck a landmine and a patrol was ambushed by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. At least 142 U.S. troops have been killed in combat since the end of major fighting was declared May 1.

Some apprehension

Training for deployment in either Iraq or Afghanistan for Schofield troops included practice in searching homes for weapons. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I'm a little nervous. I'm sure I'll get a lot more nervous when I'm doing my first patrol," said Pvt. 2nd Class Lloyd Evans, 19, with Alpha Company. "I'm pretty young, but I enlisted for this. I feel pretty ready, and I trust my leaders."

With fellow soldiers dressed in Middle Eastern garb, including full-length veiled dresses on female soldiers, the Wolfhounds practiced yesterday what they'll probably be doing for real in just several months: checking homes for weapons and munitions.

"I'm with U.S. forces. May I come in and check your house?" asked Sgt. Jay Lawrence, a team leader taking part in the exercise.

Six other combat-equipped soldiers had their backs to the wall around the corner for security, and Lawrence and other soldiers went room by room looking for weapons and asking the "occupants" to tilt over tables and chairs.

Battalion commander Lt. Col. Scott Leith, 40, said the soldiers are "masters at immediately breaking down a door and dominating a facility," but that approach — while available — has been replaced by diplomacy and talking to village elders and leaders.

The battalion's chaplain, one of six Muslim chaplains in the U.S. Army, also has been guiding the unit on "dos and don'ts" in dealing with Muslim cultures, Leith said.

"We're not just going over there to be bad mama jamas," Waters said. "We're also there to help them out — get them back on their feet."

The level of preparation at the central O'ahu post underscores the severity of each mission. Schofield soldiers have been training to deal with landmines and booby traps, 25th Division spokeswoman Maj. Stacy Bathrick said. They have also been told to have their wills in order and powers of attorney signed.

"We know that any time you are involved in combat operations, it is serious business," Bathrick said. "We train as we fight. We train in tough, realistic conditions like we will see on the battlefield."

She said the troops will be "ready for any conditions." Preparations for Afghanistan are just as helpful for Iraq, soldiers said.

The February deployment will include about 4,500 soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, the Aviation Brigade and the 45th Corps Support Group (Forward). They will deploy to Operation Iraqi Freedom with helicopters, engineers, watercraft operations personnel, logistics personnel and artillery.

The contingent includes 1,000 more soldiers than originally planned.

Another 3,500 soldiers with the 3rd Brigade, Division Support Command, the Aviation Brigade and the Division Headquarters will deploy as early as April. They were originally scheduled to deploy in August.

The new orders give soldiers and their families "some predictability to plan for this long deployment," Bathrick said.

"Our soldiers have been training for a very long time for when we would get the call," she said. "Our soldiers are really excited to answer the call of our nation."

Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson, commanding general for the division and U.S. Army, Hawai'i, said his troops are proud to have been selected for "these challenging and diverse missions."

12-month deployment

The 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment Alpha Company is training to be culturally sensitive during deployment to either Iraq or Afghanistan. A Muslim man played by Sgt. David Anderson, above foreground, was asked to move a woman in his home so that soldiers don't look at her. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Deployed personnel will be eligible for "rest and relaxation," or R&D, between the end of the third month of the mission and the start of the 11th month, Bathrick said.

"Taking care of our family members while our soldiers are deployed will remain a top priority," Olson said.

Division officials plan to reach out to families through Army support groups, Bathrick said.

"We're going to work with our family readiness groups and our chaplains to make sure we provide them with the information about the soldiers while they are deployed," Bathrick said.

Similarly, soldiers in the combat zone will be given safe places to store their possessions while they are deployed, she said.

"Our goal is to make sure we can take care of the soldiers as much as possible with their personal affairs so when they are deployed they can focus on the mission and not have anything to worry about," Bathrick said.

Leith, who'll command close to 700 soldiers in Iraq, said a priority will be setting up communications back to families at home. Leith's wife is pregnant, and he's among a number of soldiers who will have to get the good news from the battlefield.

The Iraq deployment is part of an 85,000-member troop rotation being sent to Iraq to relieve forces who have been there for up to a year Rumsfeld said yesterday.

In addition, nearly 47,000 National Guard and Reserve forces are in the process of being notified that they will be activated to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan, Rumsfeld said. Even more Army soldiers could be alerted soon to add to those deployments, he said.

Some of the troops rotating into Iraq will be returning for their second tour of duty there — and some only a short time after they were sent home.

Reservists will be called up for a maximum of 18 months, with a year in Iraq, Rumsfeld said. The Marines will be activated for a year, with seven months in Iraq, he said.

"While there will be imperfections along the way, the services made every effort to make sure the guard and reserve forces are treated respectfully," Rumsfeld said.

The Pentagon has been working for months on a troop rotation plan. It is based on a commitment to keep troops in Iraq for no more than a year at a time, and because tens of thousands have been there since last spring, the Pentagon needs to notify replacements to get ready.

Rumsfeld signed the orders yesterday, and members of Congress were briefed on the details.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012, and William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.