Video by Third Army/U.S. Army Central PAO
Operations continue. The Third Army/ARCENT provides security from start to finish as soldiers draw down out of Iraq. They are part of an escort team. A typical mission entails getting prepared at Camp Virginia in Kuwait, gathering up all assets available, securing those assets and getting them safely out of Iraq. The 1/34 of the Minnesota National Guard provide security for redeploying troops making their final convoys out of Iraq.
Story provided by Army News Service
From www.army.mil
President Barack Obama spoke today to Soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., welcoming many back who had just returned from Iraq and lauding an end to the nine-year-long war there.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – President Barack Obama spoke today to Soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., welcoming many back who had just returned from Iraq and lauding an end to the nine-year-long war there.
The installation of some 55,000 Soldiers has been a major location from which Soldiers have deployed to Iraq and the XVIII Airborne Corps has comprised the last major U.S. headquarters in Baghdad.
“You — the incredible men and women of Fort Bragg — have been there every step of the way, serving with honor, sacrificing greatly, from the first waves of the invasion to some of the last troops to come home,” Obama said. “So, as your commander-in-chief, and on behalf of a grateful nation, I’m proud to finally say these two words, and I know your families agree — welcome home.”
Less than 200 U.S. service members will remain in Iraq after the Dec. 31 withdrawal, in order to serve as part of the U.S. Embassy there. But the bulk of Soldiers are already heading out of the country. Installations have been handed over, the president said, and equipment is being shipped out of the country.
“Tomorrow, the colors of United States Forces-Iraq — the colors you fought under — will be formally cased in a ceremony in Baghdad,” he said. “Then they’ll begin their journey across an ocean, back home.”
The last Soldiers will also leave Iraq in coming days, many passing southbound into Kuwait to await redeployment home.
“I can tell you that it will indeed be a part of history,” Obama said. “Those last American troops will move south on desert sands, and then they will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high. One of the most extraordinary chapters in the history of the American military will come to an end. Iraq’s future will be in the hands of its people. America’s war in Iraq will be over.”
What America has left behind in Iraq, the president said is “a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people. We’re building a new partnership between our nations. And we are ending a war not with a final battle, but with a final march toward home.”
For those that served, the president said, America owes them more than gratitude.
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In “This Week in the DoD” for Dec. 16:
The war in Iraq has officially come to a close. Thursday, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced the completion of America’s military mission there and took part in a ceremony to case U.S. Forces-Iraq’s colors. President Barack Obama addressed troops at Fort Bragg, N.C.
The National Guard celebrated it’s 375th birthday on Tuesday. The organization we know as the National Guard began Dec. 13, 1636, when the Massachusetts General Court declared that all able-bodied men aged 16 to 60 were to join the militia.
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy has resigned. She will remain in her position until February to ensure a smooth transition for her successor.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has issued a holiday message for service members, DoD civilians and their families.
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U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt Jeremy M. Wilson (DVIDS)
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(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ernesto Hernandez Fonte / Released) (DVIDS)
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