GERMANY: U.S ARMY "1ST DIVISION" LOADS UP ARMY VEHICLES READY FOR A YEAR'S DEPLOYMENT IN IRAQ
Record ID:
647808
GERMANY: U.S ARMY "1ST DIVISION" LOADS UP ARMY VEHICLES READY FOR A YEAR'S DEPLOYMENT IN IRAQ
- Title: GERMANY: U.S ARMY "1ST DIVISION" LOADS UP ARMY VEHICLES READY FOR A YEAR'S DEPLOYMENT IN IRAQ
- Date: 23rd January 2004
- Summary: (U6) U.S. ARMY CONN BARRACKS, SCHWEINFURT, GERMANY (JANUARY 23, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. SLV TANKS DRIVING TOWARD RAILWAY STATION 0.05 2. SLV CONVOY AND POLICE CARS PASSING TRAFFIC SIGN (2 SHOTS) 0.29 3. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS ESCORTING ARMOURED VEHICLES TO RAIL LINE (2 SHOTS) 0.45 4. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPTAIN BILL COPPERNOLL, SAYING: "They've had additional training on improvised explosive devices also on convoy live fire exercises since we are seeing from the units that are there right now that these are a couple of the different tasks that are putting soldiers at risk. And our commanders wanted to make sure that there is a training plan in place that prepares our soldiers for this. And it has been, and I think most soldiers feel real confident in their abilities to go down range and do this mission now." 1.14 5. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS LOADING VEHICLES (4 SHOTS) 1.40 6. SLV SOLDIERS STANDING BESIDE VEHICLES 1.47 7. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPECIALIST THOMAS SOHNS, COLORADO "My feeling is I signed up to be in the army so...I have fun. I go down here to have fun. Ill miss my wife but she knows what I got to go do." 1.58 8. SLV SOLDIERS STANDING BY EQUIPMENT 2.03 9. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPTAIN BENJAMIN MARLIN, GEORGIA "Right now the soldiers morale is high. They've been training for a long time now in preparation for deployment. Morale is high and the guys are, I guess, anxious now to get started on their mission." 2.13 10. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS LOADING VEHICLES ONTO RAIL CARS (5 SHOTS) 2.37 11. SCU CIVILIAN RAIL ENGINEER DIRECTING VEHICLE 2.43 11. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS LOADING VEHICLES 2.59 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 7th February 2004 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: U.S. ARMY CONN BARRACKS, SCHWEINFURT, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Reuters ID: LVA29CFIX1WAO5ATBKEAJVYHW1D7
- Story Text: U.S. Armys "Big Red One" loads up tanks and armour
for Iraq mission
The U.S. army's 1st Division, known as the "Big Red
One," has begun loading up combat vehicles from its base
in Germany to prepare for a one-year mission in Iraq.
About 13,000 soldiers from the Big Red One will head
off for Iraq around March.
They are part of a massive troop rotation project,
where about 105,000 soldiers are being brought in to
replace about 135,000 U.S. military personnel currently in
Iraq.
The troops have gone through special training to
prepare for Iraq, where continuing partisan attacks are
taking a growing toll on U.S. forces. Over 500 U.S.
soldiers have died in Iraq since Washington launched a war
in March to topple former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"They've had additional training on improvised
explosive devices also on convoy live fire exercises since
we are seeing from the units that are there right now that
these are a couple of the different tasks that are putting
soldiers at risk. And our commanders wanted to make sure
that there is a training plan in place that prepares our
soldiers for this. And it has been, and I think most
soldiers feel real confident in their abilities to go down
range and do this mission now," said Captain Benjamin
Coppernoll.
The Big Red One has a legacy that is almost as much
Hollywood as military. Lionized in the 1980 Samuel Fuller
film "Big Red One," the U.S. Army First Division is the
oldest continually serving military unit in the United
States. Its soldiers first fought in World War One, stormed
Omaha Beach on D-Day of World War Two and fought in Iraq
during the first Gulf War in 1991.
The soldiers loading up equipment said that they would
miss their families which they are expected not to see for
a year, but were eager to go.
"My feeling is I signed up to be in the army so...I
have fun. I go down here to have fun. Ill miss my wife but
she knows what I got to go do," said specialist Thomas
Sohns from Colodrado.
"Right now the soldiers morale is high. They've been
training for a long time now in preparation for deployment.
Morale is high and the guys are, I guess, anxious now to
get started on their mission," said Captain Benjamin Marlin
from Georgia.
U.S. military officials have said that the fresh units,
though less in numbers, will be better equipped and more
flexible. Equipment problems have dogged the troops
currently in Iraq; the military paper Stars and Stripes has
reported that troops were inadequately supplied with
shortages ranging from spare helicopter parts to
life-saving medical equipment.
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