I question the timing in relationship to the elections or am I wrong here ?
he 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys.
Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home.
Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.
They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack
You’re wrong. Unit’s rotate through duties like this all the time (I did this at Ft. Hood when I was there). The only reason this one got attention like it did is that it’s a whole Brigade this time. The reason it’s going down like this is look at the amount of time they’ve spent deployed. Damn near 3 out of the past 5 years. This is the Army giving guys a break. These guys aren’t all going to be sitting somewhere on a “red alert”, small portions will be on a short leash while other elements continue to train to go shoot smelly, bearded men or do something they haven’t had much time to do, be with their families and loved ones.
I’m sure someone will ask why they didn’t send them to Afghanistan. Mech units aren’t really prepared for Afghanistan. And before someone gets their nose out of joint, I’ve been mech too.
The Army is doing the right thing. Take it from someone who in the past 8 years has spent 40.5 months downrange and spent 3 Christmases at home.