This story originally ran in the Aug. 27, 2006 issue of the News-Miner
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Saturday told families of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team that he was hopeful, but would not guarantee, the soldiers’ extended deployment would end at 120 days and families would reunite by Christmas.
Rumsfeld spent about 50 minutes Saturday visiting family members of the 172nd at Fort Wainwright. As secretary of defense, Rumsfeld in late July approved a request from commanding generals in Iraq that the 172nd’s tour be extended in order to assist with escalating violence in Baghdad. The extension was announced three days after the official notice that the brigade would begin arriving home in early August.
Media was not allowed at the event Saturday, but families were permitted to take video of the meeting, which was shared with national and area print media.
The video shows that after a 10-minute speech by Rumsfeld, families were allowed to ask questions of the defense secretary. One woman asked if there was another unit being trained to take the 172nd’s place if the mission wasn’t complete by the end of the 120 days.
Rumsfeld said he could not give a yes or no answer.
“I wish I had a magic wand and the power to say ‘Yes,’ but I don’t,” he said. “I do have some influence. I will do everything in my power to make sure they aren’t extended past 120 days, believe me.”
In an Aug. 11 letter to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who expressed concern to Rumsfeld about the quick turnaround of events when the extension was first announced, Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey wrote “the extension is for up to 120 days with the main body elements of the (brigade) now scheduled to return by mid-December 2006.”
Rumsfeld estimated the crowd Saturday at nearly 800 and said he fielded some tough questions. In the video, the audience clapped enthusiastically after some questions, and politely applauded Rumsfeld at the end. Still, some family members said they were not impressed with the secretary’s explanation of the extension.
“My feeling out of the whole entire thing, Rumsfeld was just kind of passing it along,” said Tamara Bell, a wife of a soldier with the 172nd. “He was putting it on the shoulders of Gen. (George) Casey and others. But he signed off on it.”
Rumsfeld detailed how the decision was made to extend the brigade. He said he was told in mid-July by Casey, commander of U.S. ground troops in Iraq, that more U.S. and Iraqi forces might be needed in Baghdad. Rumsfeld said at that time, Casey did not suggest what units he was considering for the mission. A few days later, Rumsfeld said he told President Bush about Casey’s request to move troops into the Iraq capital and Bush replied, “If that’s what has to be done, that’s what has to be done.”
Near the end of July, Rumsfeld said Casey decided the 172nd, which was in the process of leaving Iraq, was the most available unit to relocate to Baghdad and Rumsfeld approved the request.
“It is something we did not want to do, but in this case, we had to,” he said.
Rumsfeld reasoned his approval by saying he would rather extend troops with experience and who are logistically easier to relocate within Iraq than call up a unit early that may not have completed training and would take longer to move into the country.
In the video of the event, at least two family members commended Rumsfeld for his leadership and thanked the brigade and U.S. Army Alaska commanders for their help during the extension. But most of the questions directed at the secretary asked for explanations about the extension.
Bell said she understands that with nearly 4,000 soldiers in the brigade, there is a wide range of reaction among the families. She even understands those spouses who are accepting and supportive of the extension. Bell and her husband have been separated for five deployments, a total of five years during their 12-year marriage.
“Hey, I’ve marched on proudly. I’m a military wife. I’m tough. I roll with the punches. I know when they made this decision, they didn’t do it with a vendetta against us,” she said. “But don’t wait until the 27th of July, three days before they’re supposed to come home.”
She said she’s worried that the longer soldiers like her husband must stay, the more prone they are to post-traumatic stress syndrome and the more it will affect the Army’s retention numbers. She’s also struggling because now she cannot believe what Rumsfeld or the Army tells her about when her husband might come home.
“For myself, personally, it didn’t make a difference,” she said of Rumsfeld’s visit. “If anything, it just reaffirmed my belief that my husband might not be home in 120 days.”