This week’s military surge to retake Mosul from ISIS is being orchestrated by troops from Fort Campbell. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division deployed earlier this year with this very operation in mind.
Before 2,000 members of the 101
st Airborne shipped off in February, Defense Secretary Ash Carter flew to Fort Campbell for a pep talk.
“I know the 101
st has taken Mosul before and you could do it again,” Carter said in January.
The first time was
in 2003, at the end of Saddam Hussein’s power, and more than a decade before ISIS
declared its caliphate in the city. But rather than an American-led assault, Secretary Carter said now, U.S. troops had to let Iraqi forces lead the way. And that’s what they’re attempting this week.
In a statement, 101
st Airborne Commander Gary Volesky — who is leading forces from 19 nations — said it will be a “hard fight.”
“But the Iraqi security forces are ready,” he said. “They’ve been waiting to liberate Mosul for two years, and today is the day.”
Mosul represents the largest action of the current deployment, which will be drawing to a close for Fort Campbell troops. The Pentagon has already announced that the 1st Infantry from Fort Riley, Kansas, will replace them
starting this fall.
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