BAGHDAD, Iraq - For the third time in this war, the 1st Cavalry Division is taking the fight to the enemy. Our great veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the liberation of Kuwait will not be surprised to hear that as usual, America's First Team has been sent right to the toughest areas. It was that way on the road to Manila, along the Pusan Perimeter, in the Ia Drang Valley, and in the deserts along the Kuwaiti border. When our country takes on the hardest fights, America calls on the First Team.
Division units have been in action across Iraq. Our 4th Brigade Combat Team, "Long Knife", just redeployed in June. For a year, Long Knife Troopers in southern Iraq secured the dangerous Iranian border in a series of difficult operations that spanned three big provinces. In the northwest, the 3rd BCT, "Grey Wolf", controls Ninewah Province and the big city of Mosul, taking the battle to al-Qaeda terrorists day and night. In the northeast, the 2nd BCT, "Black Jack", dominates the vital oil-rich region around Kirkuk, relentlessly hunting insurgents. Finally, in Baghdad, the 1st BCT, "Iron Horse", the Air Cavalry Brigade, "Warrior", and the Division Special Troops Battalion, "Maverick", lead the way for 30,000-plus Americans and 150,000 uniformed Iraqis as we track down and finish off al-Qaeda and their ilk in the streets of Iraq's capital and the dusty fields beyond.
We go with great team mates from America's premier fighting forces. Our U.S. Air Force brothers and sisters, reinforced at times by Navy and Marine aviators, fly cover for us day and night. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps comrades serve with us in key billets across Baghdad. Civil servants from the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies add to our strength. Contractors sustain us. Three superb National Guard combat brigades, the 30th HBCT, "Old Hickory", the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, "Independence", and the 225th Engineer Brigade, "Cajun Castle", have all done yeoman combat service under tough conditions. The 2nd BCT, 1st Infantry Division, "Dagger", and 3d BCT, 82d Airborne Division, "Panther", have set high standards while operating in dangerous areas of Baghdad city and the surrounding countryside. In addition, we've been honored to serve with the 1st BCT, 4th Infantry Division, "Raider", the 2nd BCT, 1st Armored Division, "Iron Striker", the 3rd BCT, 4th Infantry Division, "Striker", the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, "Iron Eagle", the 10th Sustainment Brigade, "Muleskinner", the 8th Military Police Brigade, "Watch Dog", and the 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, "Arrowhead", all great combat formations.
As we walk patrol, drive convoys, and fly missions across Iraq, we never forget who we are. When the heat is brutal and the sand gets into your teeth, when the road erupts like a volcano and the green tracers zip overhead, we know what to do. We close ranks. We look out for each other. And we move to the sound of the guns. We are a team. In this war-in any war-teamwork wins.
Team First!
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