Army chief: Division headquarters heading to Iraq (100-500 more troops, 10-20 yrs)

[morningfog]

An official announcement is expected in the coming days. But Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno recently confirmed the Army "will send another division headquarters to Iraq to control what we're doing there, a small headquarters."

It's unclear how many soldiers will be sent, or how long they will deploy. Division headquarters average between 100 and 500 soldiers and deploy for one year.

* * *

"The complexity of the environment that we have to operate in now, and probably the next 10 to 15 to 20 years, we need these headquarters," he said. "If you ask me one of the stress points in the Army, it's our headquarters."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/24/army-division-headquarters-deploy-iraq/16141945/

[morningfog]

1. Mission sprint.

[neverforget]

2. An Army Division HQ usually commands between 10,000-18,000 soldiers

http://www.army.mil/info/organization/unitsandcommands/oud/

It doesn't mean that that many soldiers are going to be there in the future, but I don't consider this a good sign.

[morningfog]

6. Anyone know how many are there outside Iraq?

I know there are "thousands" but I don't know the number.

[Abnredleg]

7. Not necessarily

Under the new modular Table of Organization, the command elements (division and corps headquarters) and fighting elements (brigade combat teams) are completely separate, with headquarter units having no permanently attached troops. There are no "divisions" in the Army anymore - when it come times to conduct an operation the proper number of command and combat elements will be assembled.

In this instance, it could be that the command and control capabilities of a HQ unit are needed to coordinate military activities. Not to say mission creep doesn't happen, but this doesn't mean that we are committing a division because, as I mentioned above, that's not how the Army is structured nowadays.

[neverforget]

8. We've already had mission creep. Humanitarian aid

to the Yazididi, bombing ISIL near Irbil to bombing ISIL near the dam, to "degrade and destroy" ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

I understand that the Army divisions are mere HQ's to brigades in the new modular TOE. My point was a division is a higher HQ that can handle more troops than are already there. We'll see and I hope that no more troops are sent over there but I have little confidence in the ability of our allies on the ground.

[onethatcares]

3. did anyone actually

think the green zone building would be abandoned?

[newfie11]

4. We will be there as long as it takes

To clean out all the minerals and oil available.
In the mean time more innocents will be killed and the land polluted, but the big corps/oligarchs will make billions.

[hobbit709]

5. "Here we go again. One, Two Three, Four. We don't want your fucking war!"

If they weren't planning on sending a division, they wouldn't be sending a division HQ.
Duh.

[morningfog]

9. .