The State (Columbia, SC) December 15, 2003
Key Players
More than 600 soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division and special forces late Saturday night raided a farm outside Saddams hometown in Tikrit. They found the deposed Iraqi leader hiding in a hole covered by carpet beside a two-room shack.
Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, commander of III Corps, said the capture was a tremendous reward for soldiers of the 4th Infantry, who were sidelined during the Iraq invasion because Turkey refused to allow ground troops to enter Iraq from its border.
About the 4th Infantry:
* Soldiers: 18,000
* Home fort: Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Carson, Colo.
* Deployment: Initially ordered to deploy in January 2003, the division did not arrive in Kuwait until late March. The delay was caused by the inability of the United States and Turkey to reach an agreement over using Turkish military bases to gain access to northern Iraq. Units from the division began crossing into Iraq on April 12, 2003.
* Duties: The division first went to Baghdad to take over security duties from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. It now provides security and patrols the area north of Baghdad, including the cities of Kirkuk and Tikrit.
* The 4th Infantry, known as the Iron Horse Division, packs the biggest punch of any division in the Army. Its the Armys first high-tech division, outfitted with the latest-model Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles equipped with digital communications equipment, night-fighting gear and advanced weaponry.
* Formed in 1917 as an infantry unit, the 4th Infantry: fought in World War I; landed on Utah Beach on D-Day and fought in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II; and fought in the Vietnam War for five years. After Vietnam, it was reorganized as a mechanized infantry outfit.
SOURCES: CNN; U.S. Defense Department; GlobalSecurity.org; Periscope
© Copyright 2003, The State (Columbia, SC)
