Knight Ridder has an interview with General Peter J. Schoomaker, Army Chief of Staff. Excerpt:
Knight Ridder: The 101st Airborne Division has responsibility for northern Iraq and covers the borders with Syria and Iran. They have 18,000 soldiers to do that job. When they depart, they will be replaced by the Stryker Brigade, which is less than a third that size. How can they do the job?
Schoomaker: The Stryker Brigade won't have same footprint as the 101st AB. Gen. John Abizaid has said the Stryker Brigade will have a footprint that it can handle. We generating a lot of Iraqi forces, border forces, and we want to turn over more local and regional control to them. But rest assured, those border areas will be covered.
The rest is worth reading as well.
Schoomaker Interview
Knight Ridder has an interview with General Peter J. Schoomaker, Army Chief of Staff. Excerpt:
Knight Ridder: The 101st Airborne Division has responsibility for northern Iraq and covers the borders with Syria and Iran. They have 18,000 soldiers to do that job. When they depart, they will be replaced by the Stryker Brigade, which is less than a third that size. How can they do the job?
Schoomaker: The Stryker Brigade won't have same footprint as the 101st AB. Gen. John Abizaid has said the Stryker Brigade will have a footprint that it can handle. We generating a lot of Iraqi forces, border forces, and we want to turn over more local and regional control to them. But rest assured, those border areas will be covered.
