Edited for brevity.
The Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which spearheaded the invasion of Baghdad, is getting ready to go home and handing over responsibility for security in the Iraqi capital to the 1st Armored Division. The only armored division still in active service in the U.S. Army, the 1st is also the division with the most experience in peacekeeping operations, having performed similar missions in Bosnia and Kosovo. The primary difference between an armored division and a mechanized infantry division is one battalion. An armored division has five tank battalions and four mech infantry battalions. A mech infantry division has four tank battalions and five infantry battalions. The handover is accomplished by what are called "right seat, left seat" rides. First, the 3rd Infantry soldiers drive through their areas of operations with 1st Armored Division members as passengers. They show what they have been doing and why, and introduce the 1st Armored soldiers to Iraqi contacts. The next day, the 1st Armored soldiers conduct the patrols, with 3rd Infantry soldiers riding along to see that they are doing it right. |