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| Iraq |
| Replacing the 101st: the marketing campaign |
| 2004-01-18 |
| Edited for brevity. Heading north on Highway 1 out of the refinery town of Bayji, a road sign emblazoned with a familiar screaming eagle welcomes travelers into 101st Airborne Division turf. In Mosul, the eagle is painted big on the water tower at the airport. It’s on a large placard that hangs over the entrance to the palace at what was once Saddam Hussein’s presidential compound, now the division’s headquarters. And it’s on the shoulder patches worn by the 25,000 or so 101st soldiers throughout northern Iraq. But the eagle is leaving town soon, presenting a marketing puzzle for the 5,000-some Fort Lewis-based troops who will replace the 101st. How do they capitalize on whatever good feelings the region’s 4 million people might have for the 101st, but also send the message that they’re a different unit, with a different job to do? It’s also time for new symbols to take hold. The 101st eagle at the palace will be replaced by the logo of the Fort Lewis-based I Corps - a Roman numeral I superimposed over a stylized version of Mount Rainier, with its motto, "America’s Corps," scrolled underneath, said Maj. Bob Bennett. Bennett is the deputy operations officer of I Corps’ "Task Force Olympia," which will oversee the Stryker brigade and the Iraqi forces that make up the Multinational Division-North. He said the Stryker brigade’s Arrowhead symbol - a stylized head of an American Indian chief set on a star over a shield - will go up on the building that houses its tactical operations center. More at link regarding the symbolism and advertising used to inform the civilians that new troops and new vehicles are coming in. |
| Posted by:Dar |