In Drum visit, VP Biden praises soldiers

FORT DRUM— Flanked by an Apache attack helicopter and two of the Army’s latest armored vehicles, Vice President Joseph R. Biden welcomed home the 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Combat Brigade Team after eight months in Iraq. He touted its success in handing over security of their sector to Iraqi forces.

“You’ve shouldered it and you have done it better than anyone in history,” Mr. Biden said to about 2,600 soldiers and family members in a hangar on Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield on post.

As the part of the Obama administration’s drawdown of troops in Iraq, the approximately 3,600-soldier brigade left their area of responsibility — eastern Baghdad and neighboring Mada’in Qada — to Iraqi hands.

On Aug. 31, when combat missions in Iraq are scheduled to end, the administration plans to have 50,000 troops in the country to assist security forces. And in accordance with a U.S. and Iraqi government agreement, all American forces will leave Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.

“Because of you, we have been able to follow that plan every step of the way, and we will be able to follow it until the last troop comes home in 2011,” he said.

Members of the crowd responded with a resounding “hooah” Army cheer.

Iraqi security forces will be responsible for their own communities. American units, such as 2nd Brigade, commanded by Col. David M. Miller, are facilitating the transition.

Iraqis learned the job and are ready to do it on their own, Mr. Biden said, “after learning from and fighting alongside the world’s greatest military.”

Since the unit deployed to Iraq in Oct. 2009, its soldiers mentored the 9th Iraqi Army Division and the 1st Federal Police Division, according to brigade spokesman Maj. Timothy A. Hyde. One of the Army’s most deployed units, 2nd Brigade has been to Afghanistan twice and to Iraq three times.

The Iraqis and Americans conducted operations side-by-side and, gradually, the Iraqis took control of the missions.

The most distinct progress for the Iraqi forces, according to Maj. Hyde, was the leadership, who used intelligence and tactics more effectively than before, which is a nationwide trend, according to Mr. Biden.

“Leaders of security forces persevered and succeeded,” he said. “Therefore, those who made destruction a hallmark of Iraq have failed because of you.”

American military intelligence measured a 59 percent drop in insurgent activity in their area compared to the same time frame 12 months prior to 2nd brigade’s deployment — an unanticipated success that helped them come home more than three months early, according to Maj. Hyde, who credited Iraqis as a big help. Mr. Biden said the local population is a large reason the United States is succeeding.

“The Iraqi people have overwhelmingly rejected the ugly face of al Qaeda and extremists trying to take that country apart,” he said.

Their achievements came at the cost of one combat-related death. Spc. Robert M. Rieckhoff, 26, died from wounds suffered after a rocket-propelled grenade attack on March 18.

Before the Bidens spoke, 10th Mountain Division commander Maj. Gen. James L. Terry made remarks and pointed at one of the armored trucks displayed, a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. It looks like a larger, tan version of a bank’s armored truck. The general credited Mr. Biden for helping the troops in Iraq get them.

“He strongly supported fast-tracking the MRAP,” he said.

Also attending the event was Mr. Biden’s wife, Jill T. Biden. The Bidens’ son, Delaware Army National Guard Capt. Joseph Robinette “Beau” Biden III, has deployed to Iraq. Mrs. Biden said she is most proud to attend the ceremony as a military mother.

“I know how much your family missed you and how proud they are to have you back home,” she said.

Mr. Biden acknowledged the almost 900 2nd Brigade soldiers who are still on their way home from an airfield in Iraq.

“They remain in our hearts and prayers and I’m sure you can’t wait until they set foot in the north country again,” he said.