Military

MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, July 8, 2003) Acting Chief of Staff Gen. John Keane, told soldiers who want to know when they are going home, that there is much work in the world to do to get rid of tyrants and thugs.

"We have to be honest with ourselves," Keane said. "We've been on an operational treadmill since 1989, beginning with Operation Just Cause in Panama."

Since the ousting of dictator Manuel Noriega, the U.S. has sent major contingents to the Middle East during the first Gulf War, then to Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and yet again to the Middle East for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"What we do know is that about every 18 months, somebody is going to do something that will require military intervention," Keane said.

Keane stressed that there is no predictability in such post-Cold War operations involving tyrants and thugs who impose their malevolent will on their own people and neighbors.

Keane added that there would be more years of conflict with terrorists and rogue governments.

"We've got about six more years dealing with these guys," Keane said.

The next operation on the horizon, is that President George W. Bush is considering deploying troops to Liberia, Keane said.

"What we have here is a failed state," Keane said. "They have not had electricity or running water in the capital since 1990."

As a result of the country's poverty and disorganization, said Keane, any future involvement in Liberia would be less of a fighting mission and more of a stability operation.

Keane spoke to members of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), out of Fort Campbell, Ky. Keane's visit began with an aerial tour of Mosul followed by a briefing on the northern area of operations, given by Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, 1st Abn. Div. commander.

Many Screaming Eagles wanted to know when they would be returning home.

"I cannot tell you because I do not know," said Keane. "What I can tell you is that we have got to stabilize. Everything that we are doing now is just as important as when we were pulling triggers."

There are 33 active brigades in the Army, 16 of which are in Iraq. There are three brigades in Afghanistan and one in Kosovo. Three are tied up in the Stryker brigade transformation, and two more in Korea can't be moved anywhere. That leaves two in Hawaii, three in Europe, and another three at Fort Hood, Texas.

During Keane's visit he presented Silver Stars to two division soldiers.

Lt. Col. Stephen Schiller, commander, 2nd Battalion, 17th Cavalry Regiment, and Staff Sgt. Walter E. Wolfe, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, received the award for gallantry during battles in Karbala and El Hillah, respectively.

Keane, who earned the Silver Star as a company commander in the 101st during Vietnam, told soldiers they have carried on a legacy that began on D-Day during World War II when 6,000 troopers parachuted behind enemy lines in Normandy.

"What was unique about that operation was that the soldiers, sergeants and officers all fought together," Keane said. "That has been our tradition ever since."

(Editor's note Robert Woodward is a journalist with the 101st Abn. Div.)