1,000 more sailors expected to join ground forces in Iraq
Three years after Baghdad fell, the Navy is poised to dramatically increase the number of sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan, filling gaps in Army and Marine Corps units.
The seamen, called "individual augmentees," support ground operations thousands of miles from the nearest port, in deployments that can be far different from the Navy's traditional role. New requests for Navy personnel in the Middle East and Afghanistan are coming in weekly. There are 4,000 sailors in Iraq — a number that is expected to increase to 5,000 in the next few months. It is unclear how many more sailors will be called to serve ashore by the end of the year.
"Ground forces have been in a very tough rotation over the last several years, and if we can pitch in to help relieve some of that, we're going to do that," Adm. Michael Mullen said during a recent interview with reporters. "We are replacing some of the Marines and soldiers who are on the ground. ... I couldn't tell you exactly what it's going to grow to."
"If you're wearing a uniform, you're a volunteer for whatever the military needs from you," said Lt. Trey Brown, a Navy spokesman. "We want to take the people who are more eager, but everybody has got to be ready to go."
Not all sailors are enthusiastic about the Navy's support role.
No comments:
Post a Comment