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173rd Airborne Digs in Following Night-Time Drop in North Iraq
Aired March 27, 2003 - 13:15 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.
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR: Now Ryan was in central Iraq, Bob Franken, central Iraq, moving up from the south towards Baghdad. But there's a northern front now that has been established. And bout 1,000 U.S. paratroopers opened it just last night by jumping into the darkness, into northeastern Iraq.
The paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade have secured an airfield that could, could be used to bring in tons of equipment and many more troops. CNN's Brent Sadler has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty much, you know, you've got to get going because there's a certain amount of time that you get from one end of the drop zone to the other so you've got to exit real quick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was definitely different than our training jumps in some of our other places we have. It is a country that we're at war with. But since we jumped in Kurdish-controlled air, we felt a little bit better that we wouldn't be shot at, as we were descending from the sky.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning, Brent Sadler from CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a second, please. How you doing?
SADLER: Welcome to Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
SADLER: How does it feel to get down here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nice. Nice. A little different temperature but it's nice.
SADLER (voice-over): Now, what's the routine now? You're on the ground. How the men feeling? What would they like to see happening here as they see hours develop this day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, all the men are feeling fine. We landed with all our equipment. We're digging in positions right now to just set up a perimeter at first. And then we just take everything day by day, as the situation develops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We really don't know what to expect. You don't train to expect things you just train for everything so you can react to anything that the command may throw at you.
It's really strange that we're actually here. It doesn't seem like we're in Iraq. But hopefully -- I really look forward to seeing how the plan develops and see what our part is going to be in it, in the whole play.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq is not considered hostile territory, but Saddam Hussein's troops are nearby. And the jump by the 173rd Brigade was one of the biggest parachute drops since World War II.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Iraq>
Aired March 27, 2003 - 13:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR: Now Ryan was in central Iraq, Bob Franken, central Iraq, moving up from the south towards Baghdad. But there's a northern front now that has been established. And bout 1,000 U.S. paratroopers opened it just last night by jumping into the darkness, into northeastern Iraq.
The paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade have secured an airfield that could, could be used to bring in tons of equipment and many more troops. CNN's Brent Sadler has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty much, you know, you've got to get going because there's a certain amount of time that you get from one end of the drop zone to the other so you've got to exit real quick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was definitely different than our training jumps in some of our other places we have. It is a country that we're at war with. But since we jumped in Kurdish-controlled air, we felt a little bit better that we wouldn't be shot at, as we were descending from the sky.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning, Brent Sadler from CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a second, please. How you doing?
SADLER: Welcome to Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
SADLER: How does it feel to get down here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nice. Nice. A little different temperature but it's nice.
SADLER (voice-over): Now, what's the routine now? You're on the ground. How the men feeling? What would they like to see happening here as they see hours develop this day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, all the men are feeling fine. We landed with all our equipment. We're digging in positions right now to just set up a perimeter at first. And then we just take everything day by day, as the situation develops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We really don't know what to expect. You don't train to expect things you just train for everything so you can react to anything that the command may throw at you.
It's really strange that we're actually here. It doesn't seem like we're in Iraq. But hopefully -- I really look forward to seeing how the plan develops and see what our part is going to be in it, in the whole play.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq is not considered hostile territory, but Saddam Hussein's troops are nearby. And the jump by the 173rd Brigade was one of the biggest parachute drops since World War II.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Iraq>
