Experts: Navy, Air Force expected to lead the way, but Army is ready to follow up
By Jon R. Anderson,
Stars and Stripes
HEIDELBERG, Germany — While the opening punch in America’s counterattack
against terrorism will likely be dealt by Navy and Air Force warplanes and cruise
missiles, Army forces in Europe are poised to help deliver the heavy follow-up pounding,
say current and former leaders.
"The forces in Europe can provide the combat hammer to get the job done,"
said David L. Grange, a former 1st Infantry Division commander.
And soldiers may soon find themselves deployed for war on scale not seen since the 1991
war against Iraq.
"We need to make sure people understand we mean business," said Grange, now
retired. "We have to take the fight to the enemy, have to get out of this
wait-around-and-react-to-our-adversaries mode. You can only win if you play offense, just
like in a football game. We need to make them look over their shoulders. We need to make
it hard for them to sleep at night."
Grange predicted such a campaign could last for years.
"We’ve got to be ready for the long haul," he said. "There
can’t be the misconception we had in Bosnia. This is not going to be one year and
we’re out."
Army Secretary Thomas White said just days before the deadly attack that European-based
forces provide an ideal launching pad to hotspots in the Middle East.
"They’re a whole ocean closer," White said.
In Europe, the Army bases some 63,000 troops, about two-thirds combat units mostly
under V Corps. There are more than 500 tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles based in
Germany as well as about 75 Apache attack helicopters.
All that’s still far less than what was available to top leaders during the
buildup against Iraq in 1990.
In fact, even after shipping some 73,000 soldiers to Saudi Arabia during that conflict,
more forces remained behind in Europe than currently are here now.
Still, say leaders, the Army in Europe stands ready.
For two years now, V Corps has been honing its rapid deployment capabilities. A brigade
of the 1st Armored Division currently is on rapid deployment status, with lead units able
to fly anywhere in the world within days, according Army officials. Theoretically,
follow-up forces could be flown in as well, but with even the Air Force’s biggest
lifters capable of flying only one tank or Bradley at a time, it would require a massive
airlift operation to move much more than a few companies.
More likely, say leaders, heavy units will be shipped aboard boats as they were during
the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
A battalion of airborne infantry, part of the Italy-based Southern European Task Force
trains regularly for rapid deployment. And Germany-based units could fall in on
pre-prepositioned war stocks stashed in the Middle East. There also are afloat depots
currently at sea in the region.
A battalion of elite Special Forces troops — known by most simply as Green Berets
— also is based in Germany. In fact, 1st Battalion, 10th Special Force Group, is the
Army’s only Special Forces unit in Europe.
The 1st Armored Division only recently returned from peacekeeping duties in Kosovo, but
has concentrated solely on honing its combat edge. Top leaders said that it takes about
six months of intense training before a division is fully combat ready.
"At the battalion-level, the units are ready now," said one senior leader.
The higher staffs won’t take long, he said.
The 1st Infantry Division has had more than a year’s reprieve since its own
yearlong deployment to Kosovo.
"If this really is going to big — full-scale war or a significant incursion
into Afghanistan — the Army is the only one’s that can really do it big,"
said one senior Army commander in Europe. "V Corps and a good portion of its elements
can deploy right now. We’re one of the only heavy units in the Army that has worked
this hard on rapid deployment.
"We’re good to go," he said. "All we need is the word."
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