United States Army is preparing to deploy a division headquarters to Iraq 2509141

a

Defence & Security News - United States

 
 
Thursday, September 25, 2014 08:15 AM
 
United States Army is preparing to deploy a division headquarters to Iraq.
As the U.S. expands its war against the Islamic State, the Army is preparing to deploy a division headquarters to Iraq. An official announcement is expected in the coming days. But U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno recently confirmed the Army "will send another division headquarters to Iraq to control what we're doing there, a small headquarters."
     
As the U.S. expands its war against the Islamic State, the Army is preparing to deploy a division headquarters to Iraq. An official announcement is expected in the coming days. But U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno recently confirmed the Army "will send another division headquarters to Iraq to control what we're doing there, a small headquarters."
U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno

     

The division headquarters deploying to Iraq is expected to be responsible for coordinating the efforts of the 1,600 troops President Obama has sent to Iraq. Many of these troops are advising and assisting the Iraqi Security Forces, others are providing extra security, while others are providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. The headquarters also is expected to head up the joint operations center that since July has been run by Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard, the deputy commanding general for operations for U.S. Army Central.

The U.S. Army has 10 division headquarters, including two in Afghanistan and one in South Korea.

On Monday night, the U.S. mounted its first airstrikes in Syria, targeting the Islamic State and also the Khorasan group, a little known terrorist cell.

Monday night's massive air assault hitting 22 targets across Syria was a historic operation that signals a new expansion of a war that is likely to last for years.

U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft dropped precision-guided missiles on two separate and distinct extremists groups, targeting command-and-control headquarters, barracks, training camps logistical nodes and other sites, defense officials said.