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Bragg troops to replace 101st in Afghanistan

by Staff Sgt. Marcia Triggs

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 5, 2002) - About 3,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C., will be deploying to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom beginning this month and continuing throughout the summer.

The XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg commander, Lt. Gen. Dan McNeil, left the country late May and assumed command of the Combined Joint Task Force headquarters in Afghanistan May 31. The CJTF, a newly created command, will be a subordinate to the U.S. Central Command, which has the responsibility of coordinating U.S. military action in Afghanistan and keeping Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld abreast of the conflict.

The 82nd's brigade combat team, "Task Force Panther," will consist primarily of elements from the 3rd Brigade, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. It will deploy to Central Asia to replace a brigade from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), "Task Force Rakkasan," from Fort Campbell, Ky.

"My soldiers are exceptionally ready and exceptionally motivated," said Lt. Col. Martin P. Schweitzer, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 505th PIR.

In preparation for the operation, skills such as nuclear, biological and chemical protection, as well as communications, have been refined, Schweitzer said.

The airborne brigade task force will be headquartered out of Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, and will continue the primary mission of conducting combat operations to destroy remaining terrorist elements, Army officials said. The unit will also provide site security, collect and exploit intelligence, process detainees, and assist with humanitarian relief to the people in the region, officials added.

The deployment is expected to last six months. However, mission requirements could dictate a longer or shorter duration, officials said. The 101st deployed to support Operation Enduring Freedom in January.

"The 101st brigade has done a tremendous job combating terrorism in Afghanistan," an XVIII Airborne Corps news release stated. "The rotation in forces ... will give the 101st a much-deserved break, a chance to spend some time with family and the opportunity to refocus and prepare for future operations."

It is not known how many other rotations will occur, officials said.

"The U.S. remains committed to Afghanistan until we complete our mission to rid the country of terrorists and set conditions so terrorists don't return," the release continued. "We are not an occupying force. We will leave Afghanistan when we have achieved our objectives."

The creation of the CJTF is also not an indication that the United States will be in Afghanistan indefinitely, officials said.

The purpose of the CJTF is to provide a single senior officer, McNeil, who will be responsible for the majority of forces and activity in Afghanistan, U.S. CENTCOM officials said. McNeil will report directly to Gen. Tommy R. Franks, commander in chief, U.S. CENTCOM.

"The operational command structure put in place at the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom worked very well at the time," U.S. CENTCOM officials said. "But as conditions evolved, a new structure was required."

CJTF-180 (Afghanistan) will be consist of elements of the XVIII Airborne Corps headquarters from Fort Bragg.