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'From the front lines'

Mar-19-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

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This week, just days before the one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Williamson corresponded by e-mail with the Republic to help people back home understand a little about what America's troops are doing in Iraq.

"My unit is 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (aka Stryker Brigade Combat Team)," he wrote. "Our unit's specialty is the use of a combined arms fight, including elements from the armor, field artillery, cavalry, and intelligence branches as well as our infantry, to bring a new fight to the enemy. While we are known mainly for our Stryker, the Army's new toy, it is the soldiers within the unit that set us apart. We deployed in November for a 12-month tour.

"While it made my family nervous for me to go into a combat zone, I was most worried about losing one of my men. I was excited, however, to actually get to test our training and capabilities. For me, this is what joining the Army was all about. Unfortunately, my company did lose three men when we first arrived in Iraq in a freak Stryker accident. One of them was a pretty close friend, and they are all sorely missed.

"On a daily basis, my unit takes more of a local government role than I originally thought we would. Not only do we work on apprehending what the Army calls "Non-Compliant Forces," we also work with Iraqi citizens and officials to improve the quality of life - from increasing employment to ensuring that public services are working. What we want to do is to transition the control of the country back to the Iraqi people and help them become self-sufficient.


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