Army’s 3rd Infantry to Return to Iraq

The Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, which led the drive to Baghdad during the Iraq war, announced Friday that it had received orders to return for at least a year to fight insurgents and help the Iraqis establish their own government.

Col. Steven L. Salazar, a brigade commander, said the latest deployment could begin between November and February.

“The deployment is part of a planned rotation of forces,” Maj. Gen. William G. Webster, the division’s commander, said in a statement. “We expect to be deployed for approximately one year. However, there are no guarantees. The situation on the ground and the needs of the theater commander will ultimately determine the length of our deployment.”

Two of the division’s brigades are at Fort Stewart, Ga., and a third is at Fort Benning. The division’s aviation brigade is at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah.

A reorganization after the war boosted the division to about 19,000 soldiers from the 16,000 it had as it led the charge to Baghdad in April 2003.

Spc. Cory Nakamura of Los Angeles said he got married after returning from the war and his wife was “very supportive” of his new mission in the Middle East.

“It’s going to be a completely different mission,” he said. “The first time, we were on the offensive. Now we’re working with the Iraqis. I’d like to see a more peaceful, democratic Iraq.”

Another young veteran of the war, Spc. Timothy Clark of Perry, N.Y., said a return to Iraq was “probably not a choice you’d like to make, but you’re obligated. You have to feel that way when you sign the paper and raise your right hand.

“I’m hoping to make them think twice about the destruction they’re doing to U.S. soldiers,” Clark said of the insurgents. “The 3rd Brigade will go over and put its foot down. It’s the best combat team in the military.”