Pfc. Natasha Jones, an Army cook with the 3rd Infantry Division, mans her post during an ambush drill at Fort Stewart, Ga., during training to prepare for the upcoming deployment to Iraq. It will be the first Army division called back to the country since the U.S.-led invasion occurred. Associated Press

General for 3rd Infantry predicts 2005 Iraq tour

FORT STEWART, Ga. - The commanding general of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division on Wednesday predicted, with a strong note of caution, that his 19,000 troops likely won't return to Iraq until next year.

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"I don't want to tell the soldiers that I really believe they're going to be home for Christmas, because I don't control that," Maj. Gen. William G. Webster told reporters observing a command-level training exercise. "But I do believe they will be."

The 3rd Infantry, which led the assault on Baghdad last year, received deployment orders last week to be ready to leave for a second tour in Iraq between November and February. It will be the first Army division called back since the invasion.

Maj. Gen. Webster cautioned that the deployment could come sooner than January if conditions in Iraq change significantly with a fresh influx of anti-American insurgents or a decision by the Pentagon to send units now in Iraqhome early.

"If the situation holds ... I think we'll be loading ships in November, and the advance party, less than 100 people, will go set the stage for us to deploy to Kuwait and Iraq shortly after the first of the year," Maj. Gen. Webster said.

Meanwhile, 3rd Infantry commanders are training under a reorganized structure that breaks the division's three ground combat brigades into four and increases their manpower from 16,000 troops to 19,000.

Working from a command post in large tents ringed with concertina wire, commanders and their staffs have been running computerized simulations since Saturday.

Reports coming over the phones mimic scenarios soldiers are facing in Iraq, from insurgent ambushes to casualties from improvised explosive devices and civilian protests over garbage collection.

"I get a little dj vu every time I look at the computer screen," said Lt. Col. John Charlton, the operations officer in charge of the exercise who commanded an infantry battalion in Iraq last year.

--From the Thursday, July 29, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle