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Ft. Campbell Area Told War Could Last Five Years
Tuesday, January 29, 2002
By Lori Burling
The Associated Press

“Afghanistan is only the beginning, but it was the obvious place to begin.”

HOPKINSVILLE, KY -- AP
A four-star general once stationed at Fort Campbell talked Monday with residents of nearby communities and thanked them for their patriotism during the war in Afghanistan.

Gen. John Keane, vice chief of staff of the Army, was the key speaker at a town-hall-style forum also attended by the commanding general at Fort Campbell, Maj. Gen. Richard A. Cody, and U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky.

“His answers were direct and straightforward,” David Welker, 50, of Cadiz, said of Gen. Keane. “He's one of our men. There's a level of trust with Gen. Keane because he's from here, from Fort Campbell.”

Mr. Welker was among about 200 people who crowded into the 1 1/2-hour session in this western Kentucky city's War Memorial Building.

Fort Campbell, about 20 miles south of Hopkinsville, is home to the 101st Airborne Division and the 5th Special Forces Group. Troops from both units are deployed in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
(More: The Cincinnati Enquirer News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan