3rd Infantry Division commander visits deployed Soldiers

Photo By Sophia Klevemann | Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, 3rd Infantry Division commander, talks with Brig. Gen. Abdul Amir, 31st Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Div. commander, at al-Hillah, Nov. 3, 2008, during a three-day visit to Iraq.  

ISKANDARIYAH, IRAQ

11.04.2008

Story by Spc. Sophia Klevemann 

4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

By Spc. Sophia R. Lopez
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, 3rd Infantry Division commander, spent three days visiting his Soldiers deployed to Iraq, Nov. 2-4, 2008.

"All the brigades but Vanguard have come home from their surge operations here in Iraq," he said. "On my mind ... has been the Vanguard Brigade, the 4th Brigade Combat Team, and all they're doing over here."

Cucolo spent his three-day trip visiting Convoy Support Center Scania, a Military Transition Team in al-Hillah, Victory Base Complex, Forward Operating Base Falcon, FOB Kalsu, Patrol Base Jurf and PB Kelsey.

"I came over to see them in action, be with them, walk the ground as much as I could with them to understand what they've experienced and what they're doing now," said Cucolo.

He also talked to the Soldiers about reintegration training, what they can expect when they redeploy and about the transformation of the brigade from a heavy brigade combat team to an infantry brigade combat team, which will happen next year.

During his visit, Cucolo presented purple hearts and bronze stars to Soldiers earning them, as well as his own coin to outstanding Soldiers. He also performed promotion and reenlistment ceremonies.

While visiting the MiTT in al-Hillah, Cucolo met with Brig. Gen. Abdul Amir, 31st Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Div. commander, to discuss issues including starting up another non-commissioned officer academy for the IA and talked about how far the IA has come during 3rd Inf. Div.'s deployment.

"We are very independent," said Abdul. "We are high-skilled Soldiers, and we are professional."

"I heard about you and your brigade back in the United States," said Cucolo to Abdul. "You are held in high esteem as an extremely capable commander. You are a commander my Soldiers want to fight [alongside] with."

During another part of Cucolo's trip, he visited Khidr and Jurf as-Sakhr and met with Sons of Iraq leaders.

"Operations from January up until now broke the back of al-Qaida and finished them off south of Baghdad," he said. "Almost simultaneously and certainly now, [Soldiers] defeated the Shia extremists groups and criminals in the area. What they've done is single-handedly bring a level of security not known to this part of Iraq, and it's clear on the faces of the people I saw when I walked the streets with a couple patrols. The children are waving to them, and the local adults are coming up to them and patting them on the back. They know many of them by name. The bond with the local population is something I haven't seen before."

As Cucolo heads back to Fort Stewart, Ga., he will be taking his experiences here to better the division back home.

"Everything we've done, we have to turn into lessons learned and apply it to the way we train," said Cucolo. "We cannot train for the way it was last time. We have to train for the way it is now."
He also encouraged Soldiers to take their own experiences back with them and tell their stories to help better America.

"If America knew what the 4th Brigade Combat Team accomplished, what the rest of 3rd Inf. Div. has accomplished, they would have immense trust and confidence in the United States Army [even] more so than they have now," said Cucolo.

Cucolo took command of 3rd Inf. Div., July 14, 2008, at Fort Stewart after most of his division had returned home from Iraq.

• Date Taken: 11.04.2008
• Date Posted: 11.05.2008 08:23
• Story ID: 25945
• Location: ISKANDARIYAH, IQ