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Ft. Lewis experiences the largest deployment in decades
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June 21, 2009 9:30 pm EDT
Under new orders from the Department of Defense to deploy to Afghanistan instead of Iraq, nearly half of the 31,000 soldiers on post at Ft. Lewis, Washington will be heading out to both combat zones by the end of the year.
The 5th Brigade received their new orders in February; they will be redirecting as part of the 12,000 troop buildup to Afghanistan as ordered by the new administration.
The US military is working to establish a presence in a region that has long struggled to keep the peace. The 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry will be the first Stryker Brigade deployed to Afghanistan and these 3,900 soldiers are part of the largest deployment from Ft. Lewis since the Korean War.
They will serve somewhere in Southern Afghanistan as part of NATO forces working to reclaim the areas that have been lost to the Taliban
The brigade has trained 10 soldiers to speak Arabic and another 50 to speak Pashto, the official language of Afghanistan. Additionally, in preparation for the possibility of going into the mountainous regions of Af-Pak they have been training with high-altitude helicopters where routinely a low-ceiling “fly” is 10,000 ft.
Formal send-off ceremonies were held on base Friday. This will be a one-year deployment for the 5th Brigade Strykers.
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