Details are out on Rumsfeld’s plan to rotate troops in Iraq:

According to a memo on the Army plan, obtained by The Associated Press, the 3rd Infantry Division will come home in September, the 101st Airborne Division in February and March, the 4th Infantry Division next April and the 1st Armored Division next May.

Other rotations include:
• This fall: The 82nd Airborne Division will replace the 3rd Infantry Division, and elements of the 2nd ID will replace the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.
• This spring: The 1st Infantry Division will replace the 4th ID and the elements of the 1st Cavalry Divisions will replace the 1st Armored Division.
• Also, international coalition troops will replace the 101st Airborne in early spring.

No mention of the use of National Guard active components yet. Perhaps in North Korea?

UPDATE: Mark this day on your calendar, folks. It’s the first time in my memory that the Army – and Rumsfeld – have acknowledged their reliance on the Guard.

WASHINGTON (AP) � National Guard brigades and a newly created active-duty infantry unit that has never seen combat are among the forces the Army intends to send to Iraq in relief of soldiers who have been there since the war began, the Army’s top general said Wednesday.

The rotation plan illustrates how stretched the Army has become during the Bush presidency, with major commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq in addition to peacekeeping in Bosnia and Kosovo and long-standing deployments in South Korea, Japan, Germany and the Sinai peninsula.

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2003, 8:09 am   |   War Bites  |  RSS feed Comments and pings are currently closed.