Photo By Staff Sgt. Karl Johnson | CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - Gen. Peter Pace, the sixteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of...... read more read more
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By Sgt. 1st Class Mary Mott,
363rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - Troops serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom were provided a rare opportunity Aug. 12 to meet and talk with Gen. Peter Pace, the sixteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
While at Camp Liberty, Pace entertained questions from Soldiers of Multi-National Division – Baghdad and the 4th Infantry Division.
"We came a long way to do one very special thing, and that is to say thank you to you for what you are doing over here. We are so proud of what you do," said Pace to the room of approximately 50 service members.
"Sometimes, when you are serving overseas and you watch some of the things on television, you could get to the point where you ask yourself 'do we still have the support of the American people?' and the answer is absolutely," he declared.
Comparing the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan with his own experiences as a young lieutenant in Vietnam, Pace said "there is a very distinct difference between what is happening right now and what happened during Vietnam with regard to the Armed Forces of the United States. In Vietnam it seemed to me ... that our country was not able to distinguish between the war and the warrior.
"That is no longer true in my opinion," continued Pace. "Even those at home who have concerns about the war are supportive of you as individuals and your dedication to keeping them safe, and they understand that and appreciate that. People come up to me all of the time ... and stop me and say thank you – not to me as an individual but because they recognize me and ask me to pass on to you their appreciation. So, my thanks come not only from me personally but, more importantly, from so many of your fellow citizens who truly understand and appreciate what you are doing. There is zero doubt in my mind that what you are doing is important to our nation."
Pace pointed out that the 5th anniversary of the attacks on our country in New York, in Washington, D.C., and in the skies over Pennsylvania, is coming up soon.
"The number of individual service men and women who have sacrificed their lives to defend our nation in the five years since we were attacked is approaching the number of our fellow citizens who were murdered that day," he pointed out.
Pace said it was erroneous to believe that if the United States "simply leaves Afghanistan and leaves Iraq, this war would stop." The wars in the two countries started before U.S. involvement, he said, "and if we leave before the job is done, it will simply follow us home – and we are not going to let that happen.
"What you are doing here today, and what you have been doing here since you got here and will continue to do, is you are protecting our country and you are helping the Iraqi people have a life similar to the life you had living in a free country – with choices that they never had before."
Sgt. Matthew Edmonds, a paralegal noncommissioned officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Fires Brigade, 4th Inf. Div., asked about the troop rotation plan, saying that he expected only to be home for approximately 18 months before returning to either Iraq or Afghanistan and questioned "when do you see that this deployment tempo is going to slow down, realistically?"
Pace told Edmonds and his fellow active-duty Soldiers that the Army in 2001 had 33 active brigades and is growing to 42, with 37 in place now. When all 42 are on line, Pace said, it will enable the Army to have 14 brigades active at all times, making rotations for active-duty Soldiers approximately "one year out and two back (home)."
He also pointed out that the National Guard is building up 28 fully equipped combat brigades and, like the active duty brigades, once their goal is reached, rotations will slow to approximately one year deployed and five years home for Guard Soldiers with four or five Guard brigades deployed continuously.
"The good news is that the Army has recognized the need to change the number of brigades," Pace said. "We started on that and are building."
In addition, he told Soldiers currently serving in OIF that there is "every reason to believe that the Iraqi army and Iraqi police, over the time that you are gone (from here), will become stronger and have taken over much more of their country, and therefore the need for U.S. and other Coalition Forces will be down."
Pace also assured those present, in answer to another question, that the military is actively pursuing the need for enhancement, replacement and bettering of all types of equipment, both personal and combat-related. This includes vehicles, which are proven life-savers.
"I think the Army especially has done a great job of providing protection for the Soldiers," said Pace. He also pointed out that there is undeniably "a lag-time between identifying and buying new equipment."
Pace, who was sworn in on Sept. 30, serves as principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council. Prior to becoming Chairman, he served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Oct. 1, 2001 to Aug. 12, 2005. Pace is the first Marine to serve as Chairman.
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 08.15.2006 08:53 |
| Story ID: | 7441 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 106 |
| Downloads: | 38 |
This work, Gen. Pace visits Camp Liberty, assures troops they have support, by SFC Mary Mott, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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