Hundreds of soldiers return to Fort Bragg
Elizabeth Jones
Friday, February 26, 2010, 8:34:59 PM
Several hundred soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team at
Fort Bragg returned to the North Carolina installation after spending six weeks providing emergency aid and supporting relief efforts for victims of last month's devastating earthquake in Haiti.
The return, which also included several hundred members of the 73rd Cavalry Regiment, marks the beginning of a phased military withdrawal from the island nation that could see American troops continuing relief and recovery work for at least another six months, Master Sergeant Gary Qualls Jr, a spokesman for the 82nd, told the News Observer. A similar number of troops are expected to depart Haiti for
Fort Bragg later in the week.
Military officials are reducing their presence on the island thanks to the arrival of additional United Nations peacekeeping troops which made much of America's military redundant in the region.
From the initial 20,000 troops deployed to Haiti in the wake of the disaster, less than 13,000 American service members remain on the island at the time of writing. This number includes the 22nd and Marine Expeditionary Units from
Camp Lejeune and members of the Army Corps of Engineers.
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