FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - Following President Barack Obama's announcement Friday that U.S. troops will leave Iraq by the end of the year, the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell said a little over 900 soldiers from the installation on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line are currently deployed to Iraq.
Maj. Gen. James McConville said that U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in Iraq, will determine how soon those soldiers will return, but Fort Campbell will be ready to welcome them home. "A lot of the families ... will want to know how this will affect my soldier that presently is in Iraq," he said. "The best thing to say is we will just have to wait and see what the requirements are."
About 20,000 troops from the division deployed last year to Afghanistan and a majority of those soldiers have returned already this year. McConville said the post will be prepared for any additional troops coming back from Iraq before the final exit date. "This division is used to thousands of soldiers coming back and here we are talking about a little over 900," he said. "We will have a true 101st Airborne Division welcome home ceremony and we will have all the resources they need in place to help them with reintegration and getting back with their families."
