One of the first Army divisions to send soldiers into Iraq more than eight years ago, the Georgia-based 3rd Infantry Division was also scheduled to be one of the last to deploy fresh troops this fall.
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But with President Barack Obama's announcement that he's bringing an end to the war, the 775 soldiers from the division at Fort Stewart probably won't be deploying.
Shortly after Obama's announcement Friday, the 3rd Infantry's commander, Maj. Gen. Robert Abrams, issued a statement saying the Iraq deployment was being called off. Hours later, his chief of staff said the division had not received the official word.
Still, the earliest the division could deploy would be November — and all U.S. forces are to leave Iraq by Dec. 31.
"While we have all seen the president's announcement, we have not received any official guidance," said Col. Lee Quintas, the 3rd Infantry's chief of staff. "We're still prepared to go and we'll standby until we hear differently."
The Georgia soldiers, all part of the general's command battalion, had been training for months to deploy this fall despite the drawdown of U.S. forces. Discussions between the U.S. and Iraqi governments had left open the question of whether a smaller force of U.S. troops might stay.
In March 2003, thousands of 3rd Infantry soldiers rumbled in their tanks and Bradley armored vehicles across the Kuwaiti border into Iraq among the first wave of U.S. soldiers whose push to Baghdad would soon topple Saddam Hussein.
The Army would call on the division to return to Iraq three more times over the next eight years.
Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Trosper returned home to his wife, Nita, and their three sons at Fort Stewart almost exactly a year ago. It was the second time the 39-year-old soldier from Ripley, Tenn., had deployed to Iraq.
Trosper said Friday he's glad the Iraqi security forces will soon get a chance to be on their own and put to use the training they received from U.S. forces. While he's uncertain what Iraq's future will look like after the U.S. military departs, Trosper said he's certain the country is better off than it was under Saddam.
"I'm not going to necessarily say it's a victory, based on all the casualties we have," Trosper said. "But there's a sense of accomplishment. I know we made a difference in that country."
Other than the general's command battalion, none of the division's four combat brigades, including one based at Fort Benning in Columbus, were facing deployment orders.
Abrams, the division commander, said in a statement that his soldiers would be ready to deploy elsewhere if needed, though no such orders have been given.
"We are the Army's decisive force for any mission, anytime, anywhere," Abrams said.
The end of the Iraq war brings to a close a chapter of Fort Stewart's history that has kept its soldiers on a constant cycle of training for war and deploying overseas since the initial invasion.
Quintas said the division's soldiers should reflect on their service during those years as a job well done.
"We have invested a tremendous effort and sacrifice over an extended period to come to this conclusion," Quintas said. "These soldiers have a lot to be proud about."
