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U.S. Buildup in Persian Gulf Far from Over

Aired March 28, 2003 - 09:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. buildup in the Persian Gulf is far from over. The first wave of what will be about 30,000 troops will leave Ft. Hood, Texas, in a few days bound for the Middle East. Four members of the Army's 4th Infantry Division join us this morning from Ft. Hood: Lieutenant Colonel Larry Jackson; Colonel Don Campbell; Captain Danielle Schug; and Captain Tim Hayden.
Good morning to you all. Thank you very much for being with us.

ALL: Good morning to you.

ZAHN: Lieutenant Colonel Larry Jackson, I will start with you. Help us understand, now that you've seen some of this war coverage and watched what was going on, how you view your upcoming deployment.

LT. COL. LARRY JACKSON, U.S. ARMY: Personally, I view our upcoming deployment as we're certainly trained and ready. We have been preparing for this for several weeks. We're full of confidence and we can't wait to get going.

ZAHN: Colonel Campbell, do you share that kind of enthusiasm, because I understand this will be your first combat experience.

COLONEL DON CAMPBELL, U.S. ARMY: Absolutely. The men of the Raider (ph) Brigade and the division have been training for this moment for a number of months. We came out of the field in January, from a field training exercise, and we got our deployment orders. And in a short order, put all of our equipment all on ships and it's ready to go. I share Larry's enthusiasm and the preparation is there. Our soldiers are well-trained and this division is lethal. And we'll prove it here in the next few months.

ZAHN: Colonel Campbell, I know there's a possibility that you might be missing your own son's high school graduation. Have you talked much about that prospect and he is okay with that possibility?

CAMPBELL: Oh, absolutely. My son, obviously, has spent his entire lifetime with me in the army. I'm an army family member myself. My father retired in 1982. And it's something that I shared with my father and I certainly shared with my son over the last few months. He's well aware of it and he'll deal fine with it, as well, my daughter too. She'll do fine with it. We've talked about it and we're prepared.

ZAHN: And with a strong family bond like that, that will give them some sustenance.. Captain Schug, I understand you were born in Vietnam; your mother brought you to this country at the tail end of that war. How do you feel about this deployment? And what does she have to say about it?

CAPT. DANIELLE SCHUG, U.S. ARMY: Well, my mother is very excited. She believes wholeheartedly in freedom and the freedom of this country. That's why she brought me here. And at first she was concerned about me joining the military, but as soon as she found out that it's in my heart and it's what I want to do to help this country and all its citizens to be free, just as this country has given me the opportunity to be free.

ZAHN: And Captain Hayden, I know we've heard from your colleagues just how well-trained you are and the level of enthusiasm you all have to fight for your country. What are some of your concerns as you head out?

CAPT. TIM HAYDEN, U.S. ARMY: Some of the concerns are, obviously, the force protection measures. What we're hearing on the news, the integration of civilians on the battlefield and how the threat forces are using those civilians to make it harder for us to do our job. What we've done to our advantage though is over the past few weeks, watching the units in theater now, we've taken their lessons learned and we've made sure that we've used our time wisely to go over scenarios with our young soldiers. Our young leaders will be forced to make snap second decisions. And they'll exercise good judgment and I'm sure that they'll make the right decision.

ZAHN: Lieutenant Jackson, I know three of you out of the group have children you're leaving behind. Share with us some of your concerns of just about how your family is going to deal with your long absence.

JACKSON: I, like Colonel Campbell, grew up in the military. My father was a retired NCO. I've grown up in the military and my wife, who I've been married to for 17 years, grew up in the military with me also. As you stated earlier, yes, I do have some young kids, but what I'm about to do is make sure that the freedom that I enjoy years later and that my children can enjoy those same freedoms. Only thing I ask my family and all the folks out there, just keep putting us in your prayers and as I stated earlier, that we are trained and we are certainly ready for this.

CAMPBELL: And, Paula, if I could add. This division and this fort have done an outstanding job in preparing the family members for our deployment. We've got great assistance from central Texas neighbors and from the corps and our division, great rear detachments and family support through readiness groups. And they'll do a magnificent job of taking care of our families when we're deployed. I'm very confident of that.

ZAHN: Well, our thoughts certainly will be with all of you as you head on out. I hope you can feel the sense of pride the country has in this very strong commitment you've made. Thank you all for joining us, Lieutenant Colonel Jackson; Colonel Campbell; Captain Schug; and Captain Tim Hayden.. Best of luck to all of you. And I really appreciate your spending a little time with us. I know you don't have much personal time these days and really appreciate your dropping by this morning. Good luck to you.

ALL: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired March 28, 2003 - 09:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. buildup in the Persian Gulf is far from over. The first wave of what will be about 30,000 troops will leave Ft. Hood, Texas, in a few days bound for the Middle East. Four members of the Army's 4th Infantry Division join us this morning from Ft. Hood: Lieutenant Colonel Larry Jackson; Colonel Don Campbell; Captain Danielle Schug; and Captain Tim Hayden.
Good morning to you all. Thank you very much for being with us.

ALL: Good morning to you.

ZAHN: Lieutenant Colonel Larry Jackson, I will start with you. Help us understand, now that you've seen some of this war coverage and watched what was going on, how you view your upcoming deployment.

LT. COL. LARRY JACKSON, U.S. ARMY: Personally, I view our upcoming deployment as we're certainly trained and ready. We have been preparing for this for several weeks. We're full of confidence and we can't wait to get going.

ZAHN: Colonel Campbell, do you share that kind of enthusiasm, because I understand this will be your first combat experience.

COLONEL DON CAMPBELL, U.S. ARMY: Absolutely. The men of the Raider (ph) Brigade and the division have been training for this moment for a number of months. We came out of the field in January, from a field training exercise, and we got our deployment orders. And in a short order, put all of our equipment all on ships and it's ready to go. I share Larry's enthusiasm and the preparation is there. Our soldiers are well-trained and this division is lethal. And we'll prove it here in the next few months.

ZAHN: Colonel Campbell, I know there's a possibility that you might be missing your own son's high school graduation. Have you talked much about that prospect and he is okay with that possibility?

CAMPBELL: Oh, absolutely. My son, obviously, has spent his entire lifetime with me in the army. I'm an army family member myself. My father retired in 1982. And it's something that I shared with my father and I certainly shared with my son over the last few months. He's well aware of it and he'll deal fine with it, as well, my daughter too. She'll do fine with it. We've talked about it and we're prepared.

ZAHN: And with a strong family bond like that, that will give them some sustenance.. Captain Schug, I understand you were born in Vietnam; your mother brought you to this country at the tail end of that war. How do you feel about this deployment? And what does she have to say about it?

CAPT. DANIELLE SCHUG, U.S. ARMY: Well, my mother is very excited. She believes wholeheartedly in freedom and the freedom of this country. That's why she brought me here. And at first she was concerned about me joining the military, but as soon as she found out that it's in my heart and it's what I want to do to help this country and all its citizens to be free, just as this country has given me the opportunity to be free.

ZAHN: And Captain Hayden, I know we've heard from your colleagues just how well-trained you are and the level of enthusiasm you all have to fight for your country. What are some of your concerns as you head out?

CAPT. TIM HAYDEN, U.S. ARMY: Some of the concerns are, obviously, the force protection measures. What we're hearing on the news, the integration of civilians on the battlefield and how the threat forces are using those civilians to make it harder for us to do our job. What we've done to our advantage though is over the past few weeks, watching the units in theater now, we've taken their lessons learned and we've made sure that we've used our time wisely to go over scenarios with our young soldiers. Our young leaders will be forced to make snap second decisions. And they'll exercise good judgment and I'm sure that they'll make the right decision.

ZAHN: Lieutenant Jackson, I know three of you out of the group have children you're leaving behind. Share with us some of your concerns of just about how your family is going to deal with your long absence.

JACKSON: I, like Colonel Campbell, grew up in the military. My father was a retired NCO. I've grown up in the military and my wife, who I've been married to for 17 years, grew up in the military with me also. As you stated earlier, yes, I do have some young kids, but what I'm about to do is make sure that the freedom that I enjoy years later and that my children can enjoy those same freedoms. Only thing I ask my family and all the folks out there, just keep putting us in your prayers and as I stated earlier, that we are trained and we are certainly ready for this.

CAMPBELL: And, Paula, if I could add. This division and this fort have done an outstanding job in preparing the family members for our deployment. We've got great assistance from central Texas neighbors and from the corps and our division, great rear detachments and family support through readiness groups. And they'll do a magnificent job of taking care of our families when we're deployed. I'm very confident of that.

ZAHN: Well, our thoughts certainly will be with all of you as you head on out. I hope you can feel the sense of pride the country has in this very strong commitment you've made. Thank you all for joining us, Lieutenant Colonel Jackson; Colonel Campbell; Captain Schug; and Captain Tim Hayden.. Best of luck to all of you. And I really appreciate your spending a little time with us. I know you don't have much personal time these days and really appreciate your dropping by this morning. Good luck to you.

ALL: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com