Few days after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the drone killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, U.S is witnessing raising tensions and fears of fresh conflict in the Middle East. The men and women of the U.S. Army’s of 82nd Airborne Division are moving out in the largest “fast deployment” since Haiti earthquake. Many young soldiers were full of energy, one cheered, holding two thumbs up and sporting a grin under close-shorn red hair. He stood among dozens of soldiers loading trucks outside a cinder block building housing several auditoriums with long benches and tables. The older soldiers, in their 30s and 40s, were visibly more somber, having the experience of seeing comrades come home from past deployments learning to walk on one leg or in flag-draped coffins. This might even be the last mission of many of the soldiers. They packed up ammunition and rifles, placed last-minute calls to loved ones, then turned in their cellphones. Some gave blood.
“This is the mission, man,” said Brian Knight, a retired Army veteran who has been on five combat deployments to the Middle East. He is the current director of a chapter of the United Service Organizations military support charity noted, “They’re answering America’s 911 call,” Knight said. “They’re stoked to go. The president called for the 82nd.” Also a senior master sergeant, 34, said: “The Army is an all-volunteer force. We want to do this. You pay your taxes and we get to do this.”
