Up close and personal with the 4th Infantry Division
   By Murray Montgomery 
    
   Looking into the piercing blue eyes of Maj. Gen. James D. Thurman, one thing is very apparent; this man is a competent leader and he places a very high value on the soldiers in his command. Thurman is the commanding general of the largest and most modern division in our military – the U.S. Army’s 4^th Infantry Division.

The 4^th ID is in the process of redeploying to Iraq and will have nearly 21,000 troops and thousands of pieces of equipment in the country by the end of December. During its first tour the 4^th Infantry Division was involved in the capture of Saddam Hussein and 80 of its soldiers were killed in combat.

Thanks to the efforts of Victoria, Texas, resident, Carl Bludau, I was able to get an exclusive interview with Gen. Thurman. Bludau is a Vietnam veteran, who served with the 82^nd Airborne Division, and he is a personal friend of Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Maffey, Assistant Division Commander of the 4^th ID. Bludau and my brother Joel Montgomery, a Vietnam veteran who served in the 101^st Airborne Division, escorted me to Ft. Hood recently where we spent the day with the men and women of the 4^th Infantry Division.

  This was a special day for me and I came away feeling a special sense of pride in the young people who serve this country. If you have any doubt as to whether or not they can do the job, just put that out of your mind – believe me, we’re in good hands! It makes no difference what your political opinion is concerning this war, just remember that it is our greatest natural resource, our kids, who are in “harm’s way” and it is our duty to support them.

  The troops, who I had the honor to talk with, all had basically the same thing to say and their consensus opinion was this: “Tell our story and tell it true. “We believe in what we are doing and we will win – all we ask is that you support us.” I can say, with all honesty, that from the top commanders all the way down through the ranks to the trooper who shoulders a rifle; the majority of these warriors are focused and determined to do the job at hand.

From the time we arrived at Ft. Hood we experienced a professional atmosphere and sense of pride in every soldier. We were met by Brig. Gen. Maffey’s aide, Capt. Fontana, a West Point graduate from Nashville – a skilled soldier with such a youthful appearance that he could pass for a high school senior. Fontana escorted us to the 4^th Infantry Division Headquarters. Upon arrival we went to lunch, not at the mess hall, but at the “dining facility” which is what they call it now days. The place resembled a Luby’s Cafeteria and the food was outstanding.

After lunch, we were escorted to Brig. Gen. Maffey’s office and spent some time with him while waiting to meet with the commanding general. Maffey is a combat veteran and holds the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Legion of Merit (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), and many more awards.

He had his combat gear, including body armor, neatly stacked in the corner and ready to go. Maffey made it clear that he would be in Iraq in time for the upcoming elections on Dec. 15. The division will be based in and around Baghdad.

When asked about the morale of the troops, Maffey said that 40 percent of the soldiers are on their second tour of duty. “I think morale is as good as it can possibly be.” Maffey also said that the Army wants its soldiers to realize that they are part of a team. “That concept is working,” he said. “Many wounded soldiers are asking when they will be able to return to their units, they are eager to go back.”

The brigadier general, who has served 26 years in the army, also said that things would be different this time around because of the aggressive training program in the division and the improvement in equipment. “Every soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan now has body armor,” said Maffey. “We also have 2,000 armored Humvees – two years ago we didn’t have any of that stuff.” Maffey said the Army has also sent his division some 800 of the new “uparmored” Humvees. “They’ve taken the old vehicle and added some 3,000 pounds of armor to it,” he said. “There’s more protection now for the driver and passenger compartment as well as, the gunner’s hatch.”

Maffey addressed the question of negative reports coming from the national news media about Iraq. “When you’re trained to be a gunner on an uparmored Humvee you don’t have a lot of time to worry about the media and what they say. We got a job to do and we have to stay focused on that job,” he said.

Maffey, a veteran of the invasion of Grenada, said that the army is planning to turn more duties over to Iraqi soldiers. “Over the last six months we have tripled the number of troops in the Iraqi army,” he said. “It’s working, the Iraqi people have a great sense of national pride and patriotism.”

As we were leaving his office, Maffey wanted to say one more thing: “This is just a piece of the global war on terrorism and I think it’s a generational war. We could not do what we do without the support of the American people.”

Now it was time to meet the “number one man” – Maj. Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of the largest, best equipped, and most modern unit in the U.S. Army – the 4^th Infantry Division.

Thurman is a native of Marietta, Oklahoma. He began his career in the Army in 1975 as a 2^nd Lt. and has commanded at all levels from Company to Brigade. During operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, Thurman saw action with the 1^st Cavalry Division and has also served with the 82^nd Airborne Division. He has earned many awards and decorations including the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star.

During our interview, Thurman left little doubt that the outcome of this war rests squarely on the shoulders of the young Americans who are fighting it. And he was quick to share his view on the suggestion, by some, that we should pull out of Iraq. “The worse thing we could do is quit – that’s not even close to being an option,” he said. “Some people in this country have a short memory. Remember 911.”

Thurman is sure that we did the right thing by invading Iraq and removing Saddam Hussein from power. “When we arrived there, I realized one thing; we were going to have to fight this fellow sooner or later,” he said. “We found that the whole damn country was an ammunition dump. The whole place was full of arms and munitions. I still happen to believe that he had WMDs, we just haven’t found them yet.” Thurman also said that Saddam’s army was hiding weapons in Mosques and schools.

The pride that the commanding general has in his troops is very apparent and he becomes somewhat emotional when describing them. “This country is so fortunate to have these young men and women who raise their right hand and take the oath to serve their country. That’s an important statement. I get so much pride out of being a commander of this formation of soldiers. At the end of the day, they are all that matter to me,” said Thurman.

The commanding general said he has never seen morale so high as it is right now. “We’ve had 50 re-enlistments in one unit alone.”

Thurman says that the bulk of troops who serve in today’s military come from middle-class America. “When we put these young people in harm’s way, we should take it very seriously,” he said. “We must remember that these are somebody’s sons and daughters that we are putting out there.”

When asked about the negative news media surrounding this war and how it affects his troops, Thurman had this to say: “I tell our guys not to worry about that and to only worry about staying alive and doing their job. When I hear people say those negative things, I just write it off as rhetoric.”

Thurman said some people don’t realize what the Army does to help civilians here at home. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the 4^th ID sent helicopters over there on rescue missions. “We sent 17 choppers to New Orleans from Ft. Hood,” said Thurman. “Some of those young soldiers that you saw on television pulling people to safety are now fighting in Iraq.”

As for Iraq, Thurman believes this coming year will be very important to that country. “They have an election coming on Dec. 15 and that’s very important,” said Thurman. “The Iraqis need to govern themselves, but they are going to need our help to get it done.”

After the interview with Thurman, we expressed our desire to visit with some of the troops. It so happens that on the day of our visit, a detachment of several hundred 4^th Infantry Division soldiers were leaving for Iraq and we were allowed to visit with them.

  I watched as they said farewell to family and friends. These young warriors will spend their Christmas in a war zone, far away from their loved ones. There was no media around, no bands or parades; just soldiers going off to fight for their country – the scene gave me a combined sense of sadness and pride.

Our escort was Maj. Steven Stover, a likeable fellow from Hawaii, who serves as a public affairs officer with the 4^th ID. Stover took us over to a large gymnasium where the departing troops would receive instructions as well as, pack their personal gear to be loaded on the plane. Any who hadn’t been inoculated would also receive shots before boarding the aircraft. They had their weapons with them.

The soldiers were scheduled to fly from Ft. Hood to a base in Kuwait where they will receive their vehicles and other equipment. The bulk of the division’s combat gear has already been shipped to Kuwait via the port at Corpus Christi, Texas. After they arrive in Kuwait they will re-zero their weapons, receive some added training and then move on to Baghdad.

Stover said we could talk to any of the troops who wished to be interviewed. “We leave it up to them as to whether or not they wish to talk

 to the media,” he said. None of them refused, they all wanted to talk. We visited with several before it was time to leave.

Although I wanted to talk with an enlisted soldier first, one officer caught my eye; he looked ready to fight with his rifle over his shoulder and a pistol strapped to his leg.

Lt. Col. Paul Belobrajdic, from St. Louis, was going to Iraq for the second time. Since he’s been in the 4^th, he and his family have made Magnolia, Texas, their home. Belobrajdic feels that we need to be in Iraq as long as necessary and then move on. “Once they have the ability to govern themselves and protect their people, we should reduce our presence,” he said. “But not until then.” Belobrajdic is a professional soldier.

Another professional soldier is Sgt. 1^st Class Donald Field from Chicago. He has served in the Army for 15 years and will make it a career. Serving in Korea as well as Iraq, Field agrees that the Iraqis need our help. “They want us there,” he said. “But as soon as they are able to do the job on their own, they want us to leave. No country wants to be occupied by foreign troops.”

Field and his wife have two children, ages ten and five. I asked him how he feels concerning the negative reports about Iraq coming from the national media. “I’m a soldier sir, and I have a job to do,” he said, “and I don’t have time to pay attention to what they say.”

We concluded our visit to Ft. Hood around 7 o'clock in the evening. The departing soldiers had been up all day and had to wait until 10 p.m. to board the plane for a 16-hour flight. “We are driving home,” I thought, “and they are flying into a war zone.”

On our three-hour drive back we talked a lot about what we had seen that day. My companions and I agreed – America can be proud; we have the finest young people in the world serving in our military.

I wish every American, regardless of their opinions or politics, could witness what we did during our visit with the 4^th Infantry Division. Words can’t describe the professionalism and dedication of these young soldiers or the compassion that the commanders feel for their troops. And all they ask of us is that we support them.

  Editor’s note: The link below, is endorsed by the 4^th Infantry Division and it is a good place to visit for those who wish to show their support for our troops.

Click here to support the troops!