U.S. to Ready More Guard, Reserve Troops for Iraq
Tue October 21, 2003 03:55 PM ET
By Charles Aldinger
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More U.S. National Guard and Reserve troops will be notified within weeks to serve in Iraq, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would not predict whether 133,000 troops now there might be reduced next year.
Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said military leaders will advise Rumsfeld in two or three weeks on additional logistics and other support units that will be needed for rotation duty in Iraq.
Pace and Rumsfeld, speaking at a Pentagon briefing, said no final decision has been made on how many additional Guard and Reserve troops will be called to active duty.
Three National Guard combat brigades totaling 15,000 troops have already been called to duty or notified of a call-up, and more will be needed as nearly all of the active and reserve American troops in Iraq are rotated home in the coming year.
Families of thousands of part-time force members already on duty have expressed concern about disruptions to their lives. The Pentagon has said National Guard and reservists in Iraq and nearby would have to serve there up to a full year, as regular troops do.
"Within the next two to three weeks, we should be able to come forward to the secretary with our recommendations on what (additional) units fulfill the capabilities that the commanders on the ground want," Pace said.
RUMSFELD AVOIDS PREDICTION ON DRAWDOWN
Despite a statement by Defense Department Comptroller Dov Zakheim to Congress last week that the Pentagon anticipated cutting the U.S. force in Iraq to about 114,000 in the coming year, Rumsfeld told the briefing it was impossible to predict.
"It's important to emphasize that the rotations next year will not be driven by time lines for force reductions but rather by the security situation on the ground in Iraq," he said. "We're committed to staying as long as necessary with as many forces as necessary to successfully complete the mission.
"And the important thing is not the numbers of troops on the ground. The important thing is the capabilities and how well they match the security situation on the ground," he added. "Depending on how you did it, you could end up with more numbers and less capability -- or vice versa, lower numbers and more capability."
Pace said additional Guard and Reserve troops sent to Iraq are likely to be support units, such as logistics and communications specialists.
"The additional reserves that will need to be called up are really not the combat force like the enhanced brigades," he told reporters.
The United States on Sept. 28 activated 10,000 National Guard troops from North Carolina and Arkansas for service in Iraq early next year and put a third 5,000-member Brigade from Washington state on alert for likely call-up after its appeal for foreign military help met no immediate response.
"The next rotation will have fewer heavy units, like tanks, and more units that have Humvees and lighter vehicles for mobile infantry," Pace said.
"And as you do that, not only on the combat side, that also lightens up the amount of logistic support needed and mechanics needed ... to keep the heavy equipment moving. |
