US will not pull troops from Iraq
US National Guard troops from Louisiana and other Gulf states won’t be pulled out of Iraq ahead of schedule, despite the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, the US command said today.
Some units are due to leave next month anyway following a year in Iraq, but the process could take weeks to complete.
“They’re not going to be leaving early as a result of the hurricane,” Maj Gen Rick Lynch said. He said the military had set up help lines for servicemen from the Southern states hardest-hit by the hurricane trying to contact family members.
In Doha, Qatar, a spokesman for the US regional command also said there would be no large-scale shifting of US troops from the Iraq and Afghanistan theatres to help with disaster relief in Louisiana and Mississippi.
But Lt Col Trey Cate said military officials are exploring ways to bring individual soldiers home to take care of their families who may have special needs after the devastating storm.
One of the problems, however, is that it could be tough to get service members to some areas which were especially hard hit due to flooding or mandatory evacuations.
“There are lots of different options of getting soldiers back there,” Cate said. “We’re going to do our best to take care of the troops and their families.”
Navy Cmdr Jeff Breslau, a US 5th Fleet spokesman in Bahrain, said no US warships in the Persian Gulf would be redirected to disaster relief in the Gulf of Mexico, but individual sailors with family emergencies could be granted home leave.
Katrina struck as about 3,700 soldiers from the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Enhanced Separate Brigade were in the middle of preparations to return to their base in Lafayette, Louisiana after spending nearly a year in combat in Iraq.
Lt Col Steve Boylan, spokesman for the US military command in Baghdad, said the 256th is expected to leave Iraq by November – if their deployment is not extended. Boylan said the Army was providing the Louisiana Guardsmen extra internet and phone lines to contact family and friends affected by the hurricane.
Moving troops and equipment out of Iraq is a process that can take weeks. Most units enter and leave Iraq through Kuwait. Equipment which is earmarked for incoming units must be cleaned and repaired.
The 256th includes the 141st Field Artillery Battalion, based at Camp Liberty, Saddam Hussein’s palace complex near Baghdad International Airport. The 400-member unit has suffered one killed and several wounded during its tour in Iraq.
Lt Taysha Deaton, a spokeswoman for the unit, said most of the soldiers had been glued to television sets watching scenes their neighbourhoods trying to cope with wind damage and flooding.
Back home, a total of 10,000 National Guard troops from across the US have begun pouring into the Gulf Coast states to shore up security, rescue and relief operations.
The new units brought the number of troops dedicated to the effort to more than 18,000, in what may be the largest military response to a natural disaster.
Louisiana Gov Kathleen Blanco said she has asked the White House to send more rescue workers to free up the 4,000 National Guard troops already in New Orleans to stop looting and return law and order to the flooded city.
A brigade of Mississippi National Guard soldiers also remains in Iraq, attached to the II Marine Expeditionary Force.
More than 1,600 Mississippi National Guardsmen were activated to help with the recovery, and the neighbouring Alabama Guard was planning to send two battalions to Mississippi help cover the shortfall.
| Related Stories: |
|
