Fort Lewis brigade to assist in year-long pullout of Iraq
FORT LEWIS ARMY BASE, Wash. -- A thousand soldiers are heading to Iraq with the special mission of being the last combat troops to be present in the country during the year-long pullout.
The men and women of the 17th Fires Brigade handle artillery and missile launchers. But on this tour of duty, they're going to leave the heavy artillery behind due to the changing role of the U.S. military in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Iraqi military and police are patrolling the streets now while the U.S. military is standing back in support. The troops trained in artillery are instead going to be used to help support and train Iraqi forces. The members of the brigade will be working to bring to an end the U.S. combat presence there.
The president set the timeline for one year from now, and the 17th Fires Brigade is expected to play a key role in keeping on track with his goal.
Two hundred members of the brigade did not take part in the deployment ceremony on Thursday. They'll stay back and head to Afghanistan in October, their missile launching HIMARS - the Army's new High Mobility Artillery Rocket System - with them. Rockets from this launcher can hit targets 30 miles away.
The members of the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment will help ramp up combat in Afghanistan while their fellow members of the 17th Fires Brigade are part of the drawing down in Iraq.
The brigade will head to Iraq over the next several weeks.
The men and women of the 17th Fires Brigade handle artillery and missile launchers. But on this tour of duty, they're going to leave the heavy artillery behind due to the changing role of the U.S. military in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Iraqi military and police are patrolling the streets now while the U.S. military is standing back in support. The troops trained in artillery are instead going to be used to help support and train Iraqi forces. The members of the brigade will be working to bring to an end the U.S. combat presence there.
The president set the timeline for one year from now, and the 17th Fires Brigade is expected to play a key role in keeping on track with his goal.
Two hundred members of the brigade did not take part in the deployment ceremony on Thursday. They'll stay back and head to Afghanistan in October, their missile launching HIMARS - the Army's new High Mobility Artillery Rocket System - with them. Rockets from this launcher can hit targets 30 miles away.
The members of the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment will help ramp up combat in Afghanistan while their fellow members of the 17th Fires Brigade are part of the drawing down in Iraq.
The brigade will head to Iraq over the next several weeks.