25,000 headed to war late this year - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

25,000 headed to war late this year

The 25th Infantry Division headquarters will deploy to Iraq late this fall alongside seven active Army brigade combat teams.

Some 25,000 active-duty soldiers will head to the combat zone late this year as part of the BCT deployments, first reported by Army Times, and that of the 25th ID headquarters element.

Army and Defense Department officials confirmed the rotations Monday.

Officials also announced that four Army National Guard brigade combat teams have been alerted for duty in Iraq in 2009 and an additional Guard brigade for duty in Afghanistan in 2010.

More than 42,000 soldiers are affected by these announcements, which are part of the regular rotation of forces into Iraq and Afghanistan.

The active Army division headquarters and BCTs will begin deploying in October and continue through the end of the year. These soldiers make up the first large group of soldiers who will deploy for 12 months instead of 15. Active Army soldiers have been serving 15-month tours in the Central Command area of operations, which includes Iraq and Afghanistan, since April 2007.

President Bush announced April 10 that deployments will return to 12 months beginning Aug. 1, which coincides with the end of the surge of five brigades into Iraq.

This will be the third deployment to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the 25th Infantry Division headquarters, which is based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. The headquarters served in Afghanistan from March 2004 to March 2005 and in Iraq from August 2006 through October 2007.

The active Army brigades slated to deploy this fall are:

• 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. The brigade completed its second Iraq tour in January 2006, where it supported Iraqi security forces in Najaf, Karbala and northern Babil province.

• 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. The unit served a one-year tour in Afghanistan from April 2004 to April 2005, and a 15-month tour in Kirkuk, Iraq, from July 2006 to October 2007.

• 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan. The brigade was recently reflagged from 3rd BCT, 1st Armored Division. Before the reflagging, the unit was based in Germany and it completed a 15-month Iraq tour in November 2007. Upon its return, the brigade cased its colors and was reflagged as the 172nd Infantry Brigade.

• 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. The brigade has completed three tours to Afghanistan and Iraq, deploying to the former from July 2002 to January 2003 and to the latter from August 2003 to April 2004 and August 2006 to October 2007.

• 172nd Infantry Brigade, Schweinfurt, Germany. The 172nd deployed to Iraq in August 2005 and was extended for four months. The unit completed a 16-month tour and redeployed in November 2006. Upon its return, the unit was redesignated as the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. The 172nd was activated in March 2008 in Germany by reflagging 2nd BCT, 1st Infantry Division.

• 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. This will be the brigade’s third deployment. The unit deployed to Iraq in 2004 and again in 2007.

• 1st Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The brigade began its conversion to a Stryker brigade in 2002 and began a yearlong tour in Iraq in October 2004, returning to Fort Lewis, Wash., in September 2005. The unit’s personnel and equipment were assigned to the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment and moved to Vilseck, Germany, in June 2006. The unit was temporarily inactive but was reactivated in December 2006.

The four Guard BCTs identified Monday have been alerted for possible mobilization to Iraq. About 14,000 soldiers are affected by this announcement, but they are not scheduled to deploy at least until late fiscal 2009.

The soldiers, who will be tasked to perform security forces missions in Iraq, including base defense and route security, belong to:

• 72nd BCT, Texas National Guard.

• 2nd BCT, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard. The unit last deployed to Anbar province, Iraq, in 2005, and returned in June 2006.

• 256th BCT, Louisiana National Guard. The unit returned from Iraq in September 2005 and was activated almost immediately to help with recovery and relief in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

• 278th BCT, Tennessee National Guard. The unit deployed to Iraq from December 2004 to October 2005, operating along the Iranian border in Diyala province.

These units are scheduled to replace the following Guard brigades, who will deploy to Iraq this fall: 56th BCT, 36th Infantry Division, Texas; 29th BCT, Hawaii; 81st BCT, Washington.

In addition, the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division in Pennsylvania and the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team from North Carolina will deploy in spring 2009 to replace two active Army brigades currently in Iraq. That means they will have their own battle space and conduct full-spectrum combat operations. Also, the 50th BCT of New Jersey will deploy in the fall to run detention operations in Iraq, and the 33rd BCT of Illinois will deploy to Afghanistan.

Those soldiers were alerted in October 2007 and have been preparing since then for their deployments.

Officials also announced Monday that more than 3,100 soldiers from the Vermont National Guard’s 86th BCT have been alerted to deploy to Afghanistan in the spring of 2010 to train the Afghan National Security Forces.

Deploying Guard units will be mobilized for no more than 12 months, according to a policy announced in January 2007 by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.