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Report From Mark Johnson, Live With U.S. 82nd Airborne
Aired April 02, 2003 - 13:50 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, CNN ANCHOR: I want to immediately go to Mark Johnson, with "The Charlotte Observer". He's on the phone with us, one of the embedded journalists who's out there. Mark, tell us what you're seeing, what you're doing, what you're hearing.
MARK JOHNSON, "THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER": We're right in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the city known as (UNINTELLIGIBLE) which is about 120 miles south of Baghdad. Basically, what's going on here is the 82nd Airborne Division has been called in to clear the supply pipeline between Kuwait, all the way up to the forces that are closing in on Baghdad. Your viewers will probably recall that there were a number of attacks on supply trucks and there were some soldiers who were captured a few days ago.
And these were being -- these attacks were carried out by some paramilitary units that were taking refuge in this town. So the 82nd was called in there to basically stomp out these guys who here (UNINTELLIGIBLE) this city. So they eliminate that problem, and then they also will clear out this choke point along the supply route because if they secure the city, supplies can go up Highway 8, which is a much faster route than they're currently taking the food, water, and ammunition up to units like the 3rd Infantry Division.
BLITZER: Mark, we haven't really heard much so far about the 82nd Airborne, which is headquartered as, of course, you well know in North Carolina, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. You write for "The Charlotte Observer". We've heard a lot about the 101st Airborne Division, what they're doing. What specifically has the 82nd been doing over these past couple of weeks?
JOHNSON: Well basically, their mission, when the war started, was to seize Baghdad airport, but that depended on an early collapse of the regime. The hope was that the regime would fall quickly, the 82nd would either parachute in or air-land in, secure the airport. They'd have a foothold on the capital and things would move quickly. As we all know, the regime did not collapse quickly.
So as with any military operation, they had several other plans that they could put into place, targets that they could go after and basically the one that was put into play was for them to clear the supply route so that the units that are upfront, that are closing in on Baghdad, would have everything that they need. It's not as glamorous assignment as the 82nd has had in the past sometimes, but they -- you know, they didn't hesitate a minute to (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BLITZER: So basically what you're saying, Mark, is they called an audible almost at the line of scrimmage and they decided to give the 28th a different mission after the war actually started. Is that fair?
JOHNSON: Something along those lines. Basically, you know, the commanders keep saying that, you know, a plan changes as soon as the first move is made. You know, they wanted to take the airport, but they had several other options that they could take if that didn't happen. You know, this is the only division in the Army that is -- that everyone is airborne-qualified, everyone parachutes. So, they take great pride in that, and they would have liked to have parachuted in somewhere, but that's not the way it worked out.
BLITZER: It's still a legendary division, the 82nd Airborne Division. Mark Johnson, one of the embedded reporters covering the 82nd Airborne. He's from "The Charlotte Observer". A newspaper Judy, I think you're quite familiar with, given your background in North Carolina.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Wolf, the 82nd, you're right, certainly legendary, and as you said, based at Fort Bragg and I know the people there are very proud of what they're doing.
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 April 2, 2003 - 13:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to immediately go to Mark Johnson, with "The Charlotte Observer". He's on the phone with us, one of the embedded journalists who's out there. Mark, tell us what you're seeing, what you're doing, what you're hearing.
MARK JOHNSON, "THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER": We're right in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the city known as (UNINTELLIGIBLE) which is about 120 miles south of Baghdad. Basically, what's going on here is the 82nd Airborne Division has been called in to clear the supply pipeline between Kuwait, all the way up to the forces that are closing in on Baghdad. Your viewers will probably recall that there were a number of attacks on supply trucks and there were some soldiers who were captured a few days ago.
And these were being -- these attacks were carried out by some paramilitary units that were taking refuge in this town. So the 82nd was called in there to basically stomp out these guys who here (UNINTELLIGIBLE) this city. So they eliminate that problem, and then they also will clear out this choke point along the supply route because if they secure the city, supplies can go up Highway 8, which is a much faster route than they're currently taking the food, water, and ammunition up to units like the 3rd Infantry Division.
BLITZER: Mark, we haven't really heard much so far about the 82nd Airborne, which is headquartered as, of course, you well know in North Carolina, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. You write for "The Charlotte Observer". We've heard a lot about the 101st Airborne Division, what they're doing. What specifically has the 82nd been doing over these past couple of weeks?
JOHNSON: Well basically, their mission, when the war started, was to seize Baghdad airport, but that depended on an early collapse of the regime. The hope was that the regime would fall quickly, the 82nd would either parachute in or air-land in, secure the airport. They'd have a foothold on the capital and things would move quickly. As we all know, the regime did not collapse quickly.
So as with any military operation, they had several other plans that they could put into place, targets that they could go after and basically the one that was put into play was for them to clear the supply route so that the units that are upfront, that are closing in on Baghdad, would have everything that they need. It's not as glamorous assignment as the 82nd has had in the past sometimes, but they -- you know, they didn't hesitate a minute to (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BLITZER: So basically what you're saying, Mark, is they called an audible almost at the line of scrimmage and they decided to give the 28th a different mission after the war actually started. Is that fair?
JOHNSON: Something along those lines. Basically, you know, the commanders keep saying that, you know, a plan changes as soon as the first move is made. You know, they wanted to take the airport, but they had several other options that they could take if that didn't happen. You know, this is the only division in the Army that is -- that everyone is airborne-qualified, everyone parachutes. So, they take great pride in that, and they would have liked to have parachuted in somewhere, but that's not the way it worked out.
BLITZER: It's still a legendary division, the 82nd Airborne Division. Mark Johnson, one of the embedded reporters covering the 82nd Airborne. He's from "The Charlotte Observer". A newspaper Judy, I think you're quite familiar with, given your background in North Carolina.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Wolf, the 82nd, you're right, certainly legendary, and as you said, based at Fort Bragg and I know the people there are very proud of what they're doing.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
