New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
16,000 new G.I.s
in Kuwait
By ROBERT INGRASSIA
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, April 9th, 2003
CAMP NEW JERSEY, Northern Kuwait - A second wave of U.S. troops and tanks is gathering momentum in the desert, possibly for the knockout punch in Baghdad or the seizure of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.
During the past week, some 16,000 soldiers have arrived by air from posts in Texas and Colorado. They are linking up with hundreds of Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and helicopters that were shipped by sea to a port in Kuwait.
Desert bases that became ghost towns when the initial invasion force moved out more than two weeks ago are bustling again. At Camp New Jersey, about 25 miles south of the Iraqi border, fresh troops line up outside crowded mess tents and shower trailers, knowing that luxuries such as hot meals soon will be left behind.
In the distance, thunderous booms from Abrams tanks tuning up their main guns speak to the power of the incoming Task Force Ironhorse, a fighting unit anchored by the mechanized 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Tex.
The division's mission could depend on how the war is going. If the Iraqi regime holds on, the new troops could be used to provide the final, overwhelming force in Baghdad. They also could be thrown against the Iraqi dictator's hometown of Tikrit or set to crushing the remaining government forces in northern Iraq.
If the regime crumbles within a few days, the new troops may be used to root out lingering resistance and provide security.
Commanders wouldn't describe the division's objective but said the troops will do more than hand out food and water.
"Initially, our mission is not going to be humanitarian," said Maj. Myron Reineke, a battle commander. "There's still a threat. How much of a threat remains to be seen. We're not looking past them."
Rank-and-file troops and officers have been tackling two big jobs at once: planning for battle while managing a massive deployment of soldiers and machines. The squeeze happened when Turkey refused to let U.S. troops enter, forcing the division to send its bulky cargo from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.
'A huge task'
Despite the crunch, commanders said the move has been going well.
"At the speed we're going, this is a huge task," said Maj. Troy Smith, an operations leader. "This is a task that normally takes weeks or months to complete, and we're doing it in days."
There have been a few problems. Some troops were stranded for days at an airport processing camp because there weren't enough military police officers to escort convoys of buses to the desert bases. A mechanic complained that he couldn't repair vehicles because a ship with the division's supply of spare parts hadn't been unloaded.
Soldiers said they look forward to getting past the deployment stage and into the fight.
"I'm eager to leave the camp," said Capt. Michael Monaco, 27, from Bridgeport, Conn. "There's some anxiety, but I have a lot of faith in these guys."