Army Engineer Units Rotate as Occupation's Next Phase Begins 2/5/2004
The rotation will continue into June as 130,000 soldiers head for home, to be replaced by about 115,000 soldiers coming out for the continuation of the work. The second phase is referred to as Operation Iraqi Freedom II, or OIF-2.
Army engineers are handing over construction projects all over Iraq. Many are regular army, reserve and National Guard organizations that served under the command of 130th Engineer Brigade, which was the Armys coordinating engineer unit for OIF-1. Now they, along with the 130th itself, are in the process of heading home. Some are already back, others are convoying equipment to the docks of Kuwait for shipment home, and still others, like the brigades headquarters staff, are wrapping up affairs and transferring the minutia of ongoing projects and operations in the final stages of the transition.