ARLINGTON, Va., - Because they have fought together, today’s Army is much strong than the Army that existed before Operation Iraqi Freedom, the acting director of the Army National Guard said in a recent interview.
“Where we have ended up is with an Army that is a lot more seamless than what it used to be,” said Army Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter. “And … an Army that is closer together with its three components than it has ever been, and I think that’s a great step forward.”
For the Guard, the legacy of being deployed alongside its active duty counterparts is huge, and one that was not met without the sacrifice of the thousands of men and women who deployed to Iraq.
“It starts with the sacrifice of our Army Guardsmen, and it moves on to something that we now call this operational reserve concept that we’ve got out there,” said Carpenter. “And that is a dramatic change from where we were at as a strategic reserve.”
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Army Guard has contributed greatly to both homeland and overseas missions.
Less than 50,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq for Operation New Dawn, including about 5,000 from the Army Guard.
“At this point, we are providing primarily security forces and sustainment forces for the operations in Iraq,” Carpenter said.
He added that as the surge of troops in Iraq had neared its 50,000 limit, some Guard units deployed below their troop end strength to maintain the cap.
“We’ll see this type of thing again as we transition to a complete departure from Iraq in December 2011,” Carpenter said. “When we went into OIF, we had some growing pangs, and as we exit OIF, we’ll experience them again as we downsize our presence.
“We just need to be cognizant of the welfare and needs of our Soldiers as we go through this period.”
Carpenter also said that having a stable operation in Iraq, one with reduced requirements, “is good news, not only for our Guardsmen, but also for the country at large and for Iraq.”
However, “we still have a mission to do, and there is still work to be done,” he said.