Schofield's division headed back to Iraq

Nearly 7,000 soldiers from the 3rd Brigade will deploy as early as next summer

THE Tropic Lightning Division will be on the move again next year, its third major deployment since the Vietnam War and its second to Iraq.

Nearly 7,000 soldiers belonging to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the Schofield Barracks-based 25th Infantry Division will be deployed to Iraq as early as next summer as part of the Pentagon's latest combat rotation. It will be one of the largest deployments of active duty soldiers in the history of the division.

There are now nearly 4,000 soldiers and Marines from Hawaii in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the war began, 72 soldiers, Marines and sailors and a civilian with Hawaii ties have died in Iraq. The death toll in Afghanistan is 27.

But as many prepare to go, there are also many coming back home.

The first elements of the Hawaii Army National Guard's 29th Brigade Combat Team, which entered Iraq and Kuwait in January, will begin returning next month, with soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery, coming home for Christmas. More than 2,200 soldiers from Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and Saipan belong to Hawaii's 29th Brigade, with another 1,000 from the mainland.

There are nearly 1,000 Marines from Kaneohe Bay's 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, in Afghanistan. Those Marines left in June on a scheduled seven-month tour of duty.

Early next year, nearly 2,000 Kaneohe Bay Marines will deploy overseas, with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, headed for Iraq and the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, bound for Afghanistan.

In 2004, more than 4,500 soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team were sent to Iraq for a year.

Col. Patrick Stackpole assumed command of the 3rd Brigade this summer. The brigade spent nearly a year in Afghanistan last year, but it is unlikely that many of those soldiers will be in the unit when it goes to Iraq.

Also deploying to Iraq will be the division's headquarters, which was sent to Afghanistan last year with Maj. Gen. Eric Olson at the helm. This time, the division is led by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, who is expected to deploy with his soldiers.

Also expected to join the Iraqi deployment next year are other 25th soldiers, from helicopter pilots and air crews to transportation and logistics specialists.

Last year, more than 9,000 soldiers from two of Schofield Barracks' combat brigades were sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. It was the second major deployment for the 64-year-old division since the Vietnam War. In 1994, the Army sent two brigades to Haiti as part of the Army's peacekeeping operations.

Thirteen 25th Division soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team were killed during last year's Iraqi deployment. In Afghanistan, 15 soldiers from the 25th Division's 3rd Brigade were combat casualties.

"With the upcoming deployment on the horizon," Mixon said, "it is important to note that our soldiers are our nation's most valuable combat asset. Therefore, it is imperative that we provide our soldiers and leaders with realistic training, like that performed at Makua Military Reservation, in order to ensure our combat readiness and save lives on the battlefield."

Mixon was referring to the long-standing conflict between the military and some Leeward Oahu residents and environmentalists who want the Army to return the land it now uses in Makua for live-fire training.

Limited training is now allowed in the 4,190-acre valley, which for more than half a century has been a military firing, bombing and training range. The Army is conducting an environmental study that may lead to the continued use of the valley.

The 2006-2008 Iraqi troop rotation was announced by the Pentagon yesterday and will involve at least 92,000 soldiers.

This announcement does not anticipate a reduction from the roughly 138,000-strong troop level that has been the standard this year, said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Venable.

The current force in Iraq was expanded to about 160,000 this fall to combat insurgent violence in connection with the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum and Dec. 15 election.

Besides the 25th Infantry Division, the other units in the 2006-2008 rotation are:

» 1st Brigade, 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota Army National Guard.

» 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfert, Germany.

» 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

» 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

» 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

» 13th Corps Support Command, Fort Hood, Texas.

ISLE MILITARY OVERSEAS 25th Infantry Division: » Nearly 7,000 soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team headed to Iraq next year. Hawaii Army National Guard: » About 2,200 soldiers from the 29th Brigade Combat Team in Iraq and Kuwait. Expected return: Beginning December. Kaneohe Bay Marines: » Nearly 1,000 from the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, in Afghanistan. Expected return: January. » More than 900 from the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, leaving for Iraq early next year for seven months. » More than 900 from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, leaving for Afghanistan early next year.

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