3rd INFANTRY DIVISION RETURNS TO IRAQ

Since its activation in November 1917, the 3rd Infantry Division's (SID's) mission bias been to deploy rapidly to a contingency area by air, land and sea to conduct mobile, combined arms offensive and defensive operations worldwide. Stationed at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, GA, the 3ID has one of the most successful combat records of any U.S. Army division, with 50 Medal of Honor recipients.

The Stewart/Hunter military complex is the U.S. Army's premier heavy force projection platform on the East Coast. This complex is home to one of the most highly trained and rapidly deployable mechanized forces in the world - the 3ID, the "Iron Fist" of the XVIII Airborne Corps.

Known as the "Rock of the Marner'' the 3ID contributed to the U.S. Army's success! in fighting World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Cold War and Operation Desert Storm. In the past few years, the 3ID has demonstrated its deployability by sending forces to Egypt, Kosovo and Bosnia for peacekeeping and partnership training missions. Since Sept 11, 2001, units have been sent to Afghanistan, Pakistan and other Middle Eastern countries to support the global war on terrorism. In early 2003, the entire 3ID deployed within vjveeks to Kuwait to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. On the front lines, the 3ID fought its way to Baghdad and helped destroy Saddam Hussein's regime and free the Iraqi people.

Recently, the 3ID returned to Iraq for a different mission - to help rebuild Iraq's economy and establish democracy. The SID's forces are reconstructing the country's infrastructure and training Iraq's security forces. Their efforts are allowing Iraq to become a free and peaceful nation, while also improving the average Iraqi citizen's quality of life.