[SR-25]

Destination Undisclosed, But Iraq Elections Preparation Possible

POSTED: 11:22 am MDT October 16, 2004

FORT CARSON, Colo. -- More than 1,000 soldiers from the 10th Special Forces Group will deploy to the Middle East this fall, The Gazette reported Saturday.

The newspaper said several Army sources had confirmed the deployment, though how long the troops will be gone and exactly where they are headed was not disclosed.

Maj. Rob Gowan, spokesman for U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., said the force has traditionally kept troop movements confidential.

The Special Forces soldiers from Fort Carson have already gone to Iraq and Afghanistan, though in smaller numbers, The Gazette reported.

The Army needs specially trained soldiers like the Green Berets to handle insurgents during the preparation for elections in Iraq, said John Pike, executive director of the GlobalSecurity.org think tank.

"This is precisely the war they were designed to fight," Pike said. "You know they must be in Iraq, but you don't hear a breath about them."

Fort Carson also is preparing to 7,000 other soldiers to Iraq, including 1,800 from the 43rd Area Support Group and 5,200 from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

The Fort Carson Special Forces have deployed several times in recent years, including as peacekeepers in Bosnia in 1995 and military trainers in the Republic of Georgia in 2002.

In addition to specializing in training foreign forces, they also are known for helping communities with medical care and construction expertise.

"It's sort of an integrated counterinsurgency capability, and counterinsurgency is what we need over there," Pike said.