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More than 150,000 U.S. troops in place
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military buildup Thursday reached more than 150,000 troops within striking distance of Iraq, with more arriving daily to back up President Bush's promise to disarm Saddam Hussein by force if peaceful methods fail. The Pentagon aimed to have 150,000 troops under the U.S. Central Command -- from eastern Pakistan to the coastal countries of East Africa -- by mid-February. By Thursday morning, the military command reported, 156,000 troops were in the area. (Interactive map of U.S. deployments) Another 16,000 troops were aboard two aircraft carrier groups in the Mediterranean Sea under the U.S. European Command. In Kuwait, more than 73,000 troops are posted in camps with names such as Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania -- the sites of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States -- while another 39,000 are posted on ships offshore. More troops are arriving daily -- including the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which moved ashore in Kuwait in military watercraft, ferrying tanks and assault vehicles along with 2,000 Marines. Some 23,000 more ground troops are stationed in the Middle East and on the Arabian Peninsula, and another 21,000 are scattered throughout the rest of Central Command's region. In the United States, more troops were getting orders Thursday to leave for the Persian Gulf region, among them 38,000 reservists who are part of the largest single reserve force call-up since the war on terrorism began. The latest forces to ship out include a reserve airlift wing from Dover Air Force Base, the 101st Airborne Division (the "Screaming Eagles"); two transport battalions from Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia; and support, security and communication personnel from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. The 101st will place more than 20,000 air-assault soldiers into the region. This division saw action in Afghanistan last year and dates back to World War II, when about 14,000 paratroopers dropped into France's Normandy in 1944.
The division paused Thursday at Mayport Naval Air Station near Jacksonville, Florida, to load equipment. Bush is expected to address the troops Thursday afternoon. (Full story) Australia and Britain also have committed forces to the Gulf. The Royal Australian Air Force has deployed a squadron of F/A-18 Hornet fighters, three C-130 Hercules transports and an air force command element. Australian army special forces have been deployed, and the Navy has deployed the HMAS Kanimbla with about 350 sailors and soldiers, a Sea King helicopter, landing craft, an air-defense detachment and a specialist explosives ordnance team. Great Britain has assigned about 8,000 Royal Air Force personnel to the Gulf, along with 26,000 Army soldiers and more than 8,000 sailors. For the latest developments, see CNN.com's Iraq Tracker.
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