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Deputy Secretary Surprises Fort Campbell Troops
Monday, October 28, 2002
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz throws a grenade on an Expert Infantryman Badge course at Fort Campbell, Ky., during his visit with soldiers from the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
Image Credit: Jim Garamone -- AFIS.

"It was even more remarkable because there were so few of you. Maybe that's why you succeeded and the English and Soviets who went into the country with hundreds of thousands weren't."

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz paid a surprise visit to the soldiers of the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) division and of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment here.

Wolfowitz said he just wanted to tell them how much the DoD leadership values their sacrifices, competence and courage.

Wolfowitz had breakfast with troops at a consolidated dining facility on post. He said they told him of their experiences in Operation Anaconda during their deployment to Operation Enduring Freedom. He said the 101st stand during that operation helped demoralize the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies.

The al Qaeda were well-supplied and had state-of-the-art gear, said division NCOs during the talk with Wolfowitz. U.S. troops said they changed their tactics in the reality of conflict as often as the Taliban changed theirs.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

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