'We're going to war, bro': Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne deploys to the
Middle East
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[January 07, 2020]
By Rich McKay
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (Reuters) - For many of
the soldiers, it would be their first mission. They packed up ammunition
and rifles, placed last-minute calls to loved ones, then turned in their
cell phones. Some gave blood.
The 600 mostly young soldiers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, were headed
for the Middle East, part of a group of some 3,500 U.S. paratroopers
ordered to the region. Kuwait is the first stop for many. Their final
destinations are classified.
"We're going to war, bro," one cheered, holding two thumbs up and
sporting a grin under close-shorn red hair. He stood among dozens of
soldiers loading trucks outside a cinder block building housing several
auditoriums with long benches and tables.
Days after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the drone killing of
Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, raising fears of fresh
conflict in the Middle East, the men and women of the U.S. Army's
storied 82nd Airborne Division are moving out in the largest "fast
deployment" since the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
U.S. Army Major General James Mingus waded through the sea of
camouflage-uniformed men and women as they prepared to leave the base
near Fayetteville on Sunday. He shook hands with the troops, wishing
them luck.
One soldier from Ashboro, Virginia, said he wasn't surprised when the
order came.
"I was just watching the news, seeing how things were going over there,"
said the 27-year-old, one of several soldiers Reuters was allowed to
interview on condition they not be named. "Then I got a text message
from my sergeant saying 'don't go anywhere.' And that was it."
Risks seemed to be pushed to the back of the minds of the younger
soldiers, though many packed the base chapel after a breakfast of eggs,
waffles, oatmeal, sausages and 1,000 doughnuts.
One private took a strap tethered to a transport truck and tried to
hitch it to the belt of an unwitting friend, a last prank before
shipping out.
'THIS IS THE MISSION'
The older soldiers, in their 30s and 40s, were visibly more somber,
having the experience of seeing comrades come home from past deployments
learning to walk on one leg or in flag-draped coffins.
"This is the mission, man," said Brian Knight, retired Army veteran who
has been on five combat deployments to the Middle East. He is the
current director of a chapter of the United Service Organizations
military support charity.
"They're answering America's 911 call," Knight said. "They're stoked to
go. The president called for the 82nd."
There was lots of wrestling holds as the troops tossed their 75-pound
(34 kg) backpacks onto transport trucks. The packs hold everything from
armor-plated vests, extra socks and underwear, to 210 rounds of
ammunition for their M-4 carbine rifles.
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U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd
Airborne Division board an aircraft bound for the U.S. Central
Command area of operations from Fort Bragg, North Carolina January
5, 2020. Picture taken January 5, 2020. U.S. Army/Spc. Hubert Delany
III/Handout via REUTERS.
A sergeant pushed through the crowd shouting for anyone with type-O
blood, which can be transfused into any patient.
"The medics need you now. Move," he said, before a handful of troops
walked off to give a little less than a pint each.
UNCERTAINTY PREVAILS
While members of the unit - considered the most mobile in the U.S.
Army - are used to quick deployments, this was different, Lieutenant
Colonel Mike Burns, an Army spokesman.
"The guys are excited to go but none of us know how long they'll be
gone," Burns said. "That's the toughest part."
Soldiers were ordered not to bring cell phones, portable video games
or any other devices that could be used to communicate with friends
and family back home, out of concern that details of their movements
could leak out.
"We're an infantry brigade," Burns said. "Our primary mission is
ground fighting. This is as real as it gets."
A sergeant started rattling off last names, checking them off from a
list after "heres" and "yups" and "yos."
For every fighter, there were seven support crew members shipping
out - cooks, aviators, mechanics, medics, chaplains, and
transportation and supply managers. All but the chaplains would
carry guns to fight.
A senior master sergeant, 34, said: "The Army is an all-volunteer
force. We want to do this. You pay your taxes and we get to do
this."
The reality of the deployment wouldn't sink in until the troops
"walk out that door," he said, pointing to the exit to the tarmac
where C-4 and C-7 transport planes and two contract commercial jets
waited.
His call came when he was on leave in his hometown of Daytona Beach,
Florida, taking his two young daughters to visit relatives and maybe
go to Walt Disney World.
"We just got there and I got the call to turn right around and head
back to base," he said. "My wife knows the drill. I had to go. We
drove right back."
On a single order, hundreds of soldiers jumped to their feet. They
lined up single file and marched out carrying their guns and kits
and helmets, past a volunteer honor guard holding aloft flags that
flapped east in the January wind.
(Reporting by Rich McKay; Editing by Scott Malone and Sonya
Hepinstall)
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