Fort Carson (Colorado) -- More than 4,000 US soldiers based at Fort Carson, Colorado, are heading to Kuwait, where they will take over as one of America’s largest ground forces in the region after President Barack Obama asked Congress to authorise military action against Daesh militants.
Obama ruled out large-scale US ground combat operations similar to those in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he asked for the option to use military force against Daesh fighters for three years. The fight could be extended to any “closely related successor entity” to the Daesh group that has overrun parts of Iraq and Syria and killed hostages it has taken, including several Americans.
| Since the day he asked for the soldiers he's been out golfing. Now maybe he's burning up the phones working to build support with the Congress, but there doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency... |
The US Army has kept a brigade in Kuwait since the end of the Iraq war in 2011. Those soldiers, including two units from Fort Carson, have worked to train local troops from throughout the Middle East. In its most recent deployment to Kuwait, a combat team from Fort Carson conducted training missions with allies.
The unit headed to Kuwait is Fort Carson’s heaviest force, armed with tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Many of its soldiers are veterans of one or more of the brigade’s previous combat tours in Iraq.
“We’re no strangers to deployment,” said the brigade’s commander, Col. Greg Sierra.
Sierra told soldiers and their families that if his brigade tangles with Daesh fighters, the outcome won’t be in doubt. “In the end, if we do get into fights, we win decisively,” he said. |