3rd Infantry Division (mechanized) deploys to Kuwait

Army, Feb 2003

The entire 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) began deploying to Kuwait in January. The division command and control elements and its 2nd Brigade have been there since December, conducting exercises.

The complete division consists of four maneuver brigades and includes an Engineer Brigade, a brigade-size Division Artillery, a brigade-size Division Support Command, the 103rd Military Intelligence Battalion, the 123rd Signal Battalion and the 1st Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery.

In addition, the 24th Corps Support Group, a brigade-size logistics unit, will also deploy to Kuwait. The 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 124th Infantry Regiment, a Florida National Guard unit, reported at Fort Stewart on January 7 for mobilization.

DoD Begins Smallpox Vaccinations. By order of President George W. Bush, the Department of Defense began vaccinating military personnel on December 12 against smallpox. Personnel on teams that would respond to an attack, military medical personnel and specific mission-important soldiers were given priority for initial immunizations. National Guard and Reserve units will be added in the near future. The precaution is not for a specific threat, but for the renewed focus on security since the September 11 attacks and subsequent anthrax attacks.

Smallpox is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal disease for which there is no specific treatment. The disease kills approximately 30 percent of all people infected. The last case of naturally occurring smallpox was in Somalia in 1977.

Violence in Afghanistan. Sgt. Steven Checo, 22, a soldier in the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, was killed near Shkin, Afghanistan, during a firefight with hostile forces on December 20. He was part of a mounted patrol that encountered a group of Afghans moving toward the American firebase. The enemy fled, firing as they left. One of the Afghans was killed and another wounded in the incident. Checo is the first soldier to be killed by hostile fire in seven months in Afghanistan.

Two soldiers were wounded by land mines in two separate incidents in January. In the first incident on January 4, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division stepped on a mine while on patrol in eastern Afghanistan and received non-life-threatening injures. In the second incident on January 10, a soldier stepped on a mine while clearing mines at Bagram air base. His right foot was amputated. Both soldiers were flown to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

One U.S. soldier was wounded on December 29 by a man in a Pakistani border guard uniform. The soldier was grazed on the back of the neck from a round fired by the Pakistani. The American soldier was evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The Pakistani was later taken into custody by his government.

On December 17 two U.S. Special Forces soldiers were injured while on patrol in Kabul when an Afghan man tossed a grenade into their unmarked jeep. One soldier was wounded in the eye while the other was wounded in the leg. Two men were arrested for the crime.

Low-intensity conflict continues across Afghanistan with random rocket attacks against U.S. bases, followed by aggressive American patrols supported by AH-64 gunships and A-10 Thunderbolts.

Army Covers Air Force. The Army has mobilized approximately 9,000 Army National Guard soldiers to augment the security at 163 Air Force installations in the United States. On December 16, the Army signed a memorandum of agreement with the Air Force in an effort to reduce the burden on Air Force security personnel, specifically, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve soldiers who are in their second year of mobilization. The Army will contribute troops for up to two years while the Air Force phases in a permanent solution to the problem.

Affected Army National Guard soldiers can expect to be ordered to active duty for one year to assist in the mission.

Health Insurance Reminder. As National Guard and Reserve troops are called up to serve in the war against terrorism, employers in the United States are being reminded of their obligations to their citizen-soldiers.

According to the Uniformed Services Employment Rights Act of 1994, a group health plan-regardless of its size-must provide up to 18 months of continuous health coverage to employees on uniformed service leave. Dependents are also covered if they were covered at the commencement of the employee's leave.

For more information on employee and employer issues, contact the Department of Labor at www.dol.gov/ elaws/vets/userra/mainmenu.asp. Korean War Memorial Events. Two events commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Korean War. In Washington, D.C., the South Korean ambassador presented a Korean flag to the Department of Defense, while in Florida, medals were presented to Korean War veterans.

The flag presentation by ROK Ambassador Yang, Sung-Chul to Maj. Gen. Nels Running, USAF retired, represents an on-going effort between South Korea and the Department of Defense's 50th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee to present Korean flags in support of Korean War commemoration events. With many commemoration events occurring across the United States either without Korean flags or with old, worn ones, South Korea provided 250 flags to support the commemoration.