| Pfc.Green |
12-31-2002 04:42 PM |
3rd Infantry Division Gets Deployment Orders
WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Tuesday ordered the more than 20,000 troops in the 3rd Infantry Division to prepare to ship to the Persian Gulf, Fox News has learned.
The deployment notice is yet another signal that America is preparing for all-out war against Iraq. The division's 2nd Brigade -- 3,000 to 4,000 troops -- is already in neighboring Kuwait.
The Army will not release the timeline for the 3rd Infantry to go, but the troops will depart from Ft. Benning and Ft. Stewart, both in Georgia.
The 3rd Infantry has fought in many major wars, including World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Gulf War.
The latest deployment follows on the heels of the Pentagon's order last Friday that a number of military units prepare for rapid deployment to the region surrounding Iraq.
"A lot of things will start moving in the next week or so," a defense official told Fox News on Friday.
If there is a war, the burgeoning American force should have no problem accomplishing its mission, military experts told Fox News.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday ordered the Navy to prepare two aircraft carriers and two amphibious assault vessels for possible action in Iraq. The orders require the Navy to have the vessels ready to sail to the Persian Gulf within 96 hours after a certain date, which was not revealed.
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