Posted at 10:33 a.m., Monday, March 8, 2004
3 soldiers wounded in Kirkuk shooting
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
Little information was available several hours after the approximately 5:45 p.m. (4:45 a.m. Hawaii time) incident, but officials said the unit involved was the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment.
"Our first concern, of course, is to triage the soldiers, and evacuate them to the appropriate level of medical care," said 2nd Brigade Adjutant Maj. Scott Halstead. All three were medivaced by helicopter to Kirkuk Air Base, and one soldier was medivaced from there to another location for additional treatment.Halstead said he wasn't sure how serious the injuries were.
"We don't know at this point," he said. "Obviously, we're very concerned."Halstead said a three-step process was being followed, including treating the soldiers, notifying family, and conducting an initial informal investigation.
"(Notifying family) is what we're working on right now," he said. More informationis expected to be available Tuesday morning in Iraq, which is 13 hours ahead of Hawai'i time. The 1st Battalion of the 21st Infantry Regiment is part of the 2nd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) based at Schofield Baracks. The 4,500 soldiers inthe brigade which deployed to northern Iraq in early February.
