WEBVTT

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today , we extend the ground and

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fulfill welcome home to the soldiers

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assigned to the 18th Airborne Corps

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commemorated their return home to fort

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Bragg in a ceremony on february 2nd

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during their 11 month deployment , The

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18th Airborne Corps was responsible for

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not only continuing to train the Iraqi

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forces and provide security assistance ,

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but also drawing down the American

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presence there . After almost eight

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years of conflict , the task of moving

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hundreds of thousands of pieces of

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equipment , troops and contractors was

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not just monumental , it was a break

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from current traditions . We had never

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turned a country back over to new ,

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freely elected officials fighting his

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heart , but drawing down and fighting

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at the same time is really tough . The

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drawdown of our forces out of Iraq was

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historic by any measure we had never

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terminated at war before . We are still

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in Germany , we are still in nearly ,

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we're still in Korea And we're still in

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Japan at the height of the war in 2007 .

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The total number of personnel in Iraq

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numbered approximately 300,000

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stationed in 505 bases across Iraq .

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Reporting from Fort Bragg . I'm army

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staff sergeant decision in Austin .

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Yeah ,

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ladies and gentlemen , this concludes

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today's ceremony , please be sure to

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join us for refreshments