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| Iraq |
| 101st Airborne Division Receives Deployment Orders |
| 2003-02-06 |
| The Army's 101st Airborne Division received orders Thursday to deploy overseas. The division -- along with its 270 helicopters -- will "support possible future operations in the global war on terrorism," according to a statement released by the public affairs office at Fort Campbell, where the division is based. The division will deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of operations, the statement said. The exact location and number of soldiers deploying was not disclosed. The 101st has about 20,000 soldiers. The 101st "will provide Central Command substantial operational flexibility and combat power, as well as the ability to conduct long-range helicopter attacks and air assault operations should those capabilities be required to successfully prosecute the global war on terrorism," the statement said. The 101st is a famed division that parachuted at Normandy, fought on "Hamburger Hill" in Vietnam, and hunted suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in the mountains of Afghanistan. It is the Army's only air assault division, trained to rapidly deploy anywhere in the world within 36 hours. Northern, western or southern front? |
| Posted by:Steve |