Third Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. William G. Webster will provide a media update April 2, 2010, at 10:00 EST in the DoD Press Briefing Room. The topics addressed will be the Third Army's role in the responsible drawdown of Iraq, buildup in Afghanistan and the reset of our Army.
The Third Army's area of responsibility is an area of more than 4.5 million square miles or 1.5 times the size of the continental U.S. Encompassing 20 countries and four time zones, the area includes 42 ethnic groups speaking 60 languages.
To support the redistribution of forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, the Third Army is executing an impressive redeployment plan. Since May 2009, Third Army has begun to retrograde:
Aca,!Ac 2.8 million items of organizational and theater provided equipment
Aca,!Ac 88,000 shipping containers
Aca,!Ac 40,700 pieces of rolling stock
Aca,!Ac 85,000 U.S. Forces
Third Army has also moved 2,725 tons of ammunition and more than one million items including vehicles, repair parts; general supplies, barrier material, and packaged petroleum products from Iraq to Afghanistan since mid-2009.
The Third Army is actively coordinating with several agencies to ensure the right equipment is delivered to Afghanistan at the right time. Some of that equipment is coming from the United States and some will be sourced from Iraq as part of a responsible drawdown. Included are
Aca,!Ac A 30,000 increase in U.S. Forces
Aca,!Ac 5,000 additional mine resistant vehicles
Aca,!Ac Three additional major distribution centers
Aca,!Ac A Door-to-Door program to move priority equipment from Iraq to Afghanistan
"This is an enormous task, unprecedented in modern military history," said Lt. Gen. William G. Webster, Commanding General, Third Army. "We have a well thought out plan and the synergy and cooperation of our many teams involved that will ensure we anticipate and are prepared to meet all requirements for U.S. CENTCOM and our Army."
For more information (or for media without Pentagon building passes wishing to attend), please call Lt. Col. Lee M. Packnett, Army Public Affairs, 703-614-2487.
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