Division Command Change Marks Milestone for Returning Surge Force

Yesterday's (July 14, 2008) change-of-command ceremony at Fort Stewart, Ga., set against the backdrop of near-daily 3rd Infantry Division homecoming ceremonies, marked one of the last milestones for the surge force that's credited with helping to bring about a dramatic turnaround in Iraq.

Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch passed command of the "Rock of the Marne" division to Army Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo as his soldiers continued to return home from their third combat deployment to Iraq.

"It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve it with the 3rd Infantry Division," Lynch said, extending thanks to his troops, their families, and the local communities, retirees and veterans who support them.

"I refuse to say goodbye. I say farewell," Lynch said.

After two years leading the division, he will be promoted to lieutenant general later this week before taking command of the Army's 3rd Corps at Fort Hood, Texas.

"His efforts ensured that this division was ready to fight, and fight it did," Army Gen. Charles Campbell, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, said of Lynch during the ceremony. "You have been a great division commander, but far more importantly, you have commanded a great division. Congratulations on a remarkable performance and a remarkable division."

Cucolo, who served two previous tours with the 3rd Infantry Division, most recently as a brigade commander, said he relished returning to Fort Stewart. "It's good to be back home," he said as he accepted the division flag. "Today is a humbling dream come true."

The 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, was the first unit to cross the Kuwait-Iraq border in March 2003. The division returned to Iraq two years later for its second deployment. This month, the last contingents of 2nd Brigade Combat Team troops are returning to Fort Stewart, wrapping up the division's most recent 15-month deployment.

The troops represent the last surge troops sent to Iraq to boost security in and around Baghdad to return home. The surge included five Army brigades, two Marine battalions and a Marine expeditionary unit.

More than 240 members of the brigade's advance team marched onto the post's Cottrell Field during a June 26 homecoming ceremony. Their fellow soldiers have followed in a steady stream of flights into Hunter Army Airfield, outside Savannah, Ga.

Yesterday's change of command took place as both Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield buzzed with homecoming ceremonies: One was scheduled today, three tomorrow, one July 17, two July 18, one July 20, three July 22, and two July 24. In addition, a July 20 homecoming ceremony is slated at Fort Drum, N.Y., home of the division's 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Stewart officials reported.

As the homecomings have continued, the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd BCT security detachment recently conducted the surge force's last operational mission, escorting members of an embedded provincial reconstruction team in Baghdad between two forward operating bases, officials said.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Fort Stewart last month to thank recently returned 3rd Infantry Division troops personally for the huge difference they and their fellow surge troops made in Iraq. Mullen credited them with "changing the calculus in Iraq and giving us possibilities that a year ago we didn't have."

The chairman told the soldiers they accomplished "what many people didn't think possible" during their deployment: bringing down violence and giving hope to the Iraqi people.

Lynch noted that when his troops first arrived in Iraq, they were being attacked about 25 times a day. By the time the 3rd Infantry Division headquarters left Iraq, attacks were down to fewer than two a day, he said during a June 29 interview with local media.

During the division's deployment, total attacks decreased 89 percent, indirect-fire attacks stopped, small-arms attacks saw an 88 percent drop, and roadside bomb attacks dipped 79 percent, Lynch said.

Mullen told the soldiers the surge, part of a new strategy in Iraq, represented a dramatic shift in previous ways of doing business with a powerful impact. "You set the stage for potentially succeeding in Iraq, and up until that point, that certainly was in question," he said.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, who the Senate confirmed last week to lead U.S. Central Command, has called for a pause before decisions are made about additional troop reductions in Iraq. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and President Bush announced they will support Petraeus' request.

No further troop strength decisions are expected until mid-September at the earliest, after defense leaders review a post-surge assessment military commanders are preparing and make recommendations to the president.

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Memorial Tree-Planting Honors Fallen 3rd Infantry Division Troops

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Deborah Mullen and Army Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, commanding general, 3rd Infantry Division, visit Warriors Walk, a memorial grove on Fort Stewart, Ga., June 11, 2008. The garden memorializes 3rd ID soldiers killed in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Three additional trees were planted here today (June 11, 2008) along Warriors Walk, bringing to 411 the number of Eastern redbud trees in the memorial honoring fallen 3rd Infantry Division soldiers who died in Iraq.

Family members and fellow 3rd Infantry Division soldiers gathered for the somber ceremony as Army Command Sgt. Maj. McArthur Dixon, the rear detachment command sergeant major, called out the fallen soldiers' names. Army Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, the 3rd Infantry Division commander, remembered the soldiers as heroes who sacrificed for the country.

Army Pvt. Kyle P. Norris, 22, died May 23 after an improvised explosive device hit his vehicle as it patrolled in Balad. Two of the soldiers died in Iraq of noncombat injuries: 25-year-old Army Pvt. Ronald Harrison died April 22 at Forward Operating Base Falcon, and Army Spc. Mary J. Jaenichen, 20, on May 9 in Iskandariyah.

The simple tree-planting ceremony took place along Cottrell Field, a parade ground that was a site of celebration recently when 3rd Infantry Division soldiers returned from their third deployment to Iraq.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrapped up a visit here yesterday strolling through the grove alongside Lynch. They walked slowly through the grounds, pausing frequently to reflect on the small granite markers at each tree bearing a soldier's name. U.S. and unit flags at the base of each tree blew in the wind, and wind chimes dangling from many of the branches sent soft tinkling sounds through the grounds.

Mementos left at each tree told the personal stories of the soldiers honored. Two miniature motorcycles and a golf ball rested under the tree for Army Staff Sgt. William J. Beardsley, who died in February 2007 when an IED detonated near his vehicle in Diwaniyah.

Two wind chimes, a pinwheel and a flower arrangement graced the tree honoring Army Spc. Adam Harting, a 21-year-old who died in Samarra in July 2005.

A plaque engraved with a photo of Army Sgt. Nathan Bouchard carried a message of inspiration: "Greater love hath no man than that a man lay down his life for his friends. RECON." Bouchard was among four 3rd Infantry Division soldiers killed Aug. 18, 2005, when an IED detonated near their Humvee following a mine-assessing mission in Samarra.

Other tokens rested at the bases of other trees: a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of beer, a religious plaque and a crystal angel among them. Each night, a miniature spotlight casts a glow on each tree.

After walking through Warriors Walk yesterday, Mullen stopped to reflect, crossing his arms across his chest as he looked down the long rows that began with 34 trees planted during the 2003 dedication ceremony.

Garrison Commander Army Col. Todd Buchs said it's fitting that the division's heroes are honored in a way that will allow future generations to read their names and know of the sacrifices they made.

When the trees bloom each April, it's a tribute to the achievements the brigade made – and losses it suffered -- in April 2003 when it led the drive into Baghdad during its first deployment to Iraq, he said.

Army 1st Lt. Oscar Blasingame, whose legal services office sits directly across the street from Warriors Walk, said he visits it frequently and attends the tree-planting ceremonies "to remind myself of why I'm here."

Blasingame is an Army reservie soldier from Florida who volunteered to serve with the 3rd Infantry Division because of his strong family ties to the storied unit. Sitting on his desk is a photo of his grandfather and the victory medal he earned serving with the division in Marne, France, during World War I when it earned the motto, "Rock of the Marne."

Warriors Walk, he said, provides a reminder of the sacrifices 3rd Division soldiers continue to make, he said.

Army Pvt. Jonathan Goad, who joined the division last month, visited Warriors Walk with a friend just back from Iraq during his first days at Fort Stewart. "He lost a couple of friends there, so it was a very emotional day," said Goad, who expects to deploy with his new unit late next year.

As he walked among the trees, Goad said, he felt a sense of brotherhood with the fallen soldiers, knowing that he is taking up the cause they fought and died for. "I felt a sense of pride and a sense of unity with them," he said.

Goad said he recognizes that he, too, will go into harm's way serving with the division. But after feeling the terrorist threat personally at a young age, he said, he feels it's his duty.

A last-minute schedule change saved Goad's mother from being at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Okla., when it was bombed in April 2005. Goad remembers his sixth-grade class music trip into Oklahoma City getting disrupted as rescue workers rushed to the scene to search for survivors.

But the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks were the clincher, convincing Goad to join the military.

"I pretty much felt the call to serve," he said. "I've always felt that we should have a sense of pride and a willingness to make this country a better place and a safer place."

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service