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CIA director visits Army post and unit he once led
" FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) -- CIA Director David Petraeus returned to Fort Campbell on Friday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the famed 101st Airborne Division, a unit he once led in combat in Iraq.
The retired four-star general is well known at Fort Campbell, where he earned his reputation as one of the military's smartest leaders early in the war in Iraq. He tested out a counterinsurgency strategy while leading the division in northern Iraq, then went on to direct the Iraq troop surge to tamp down swelling violence.
During his brief visit back, Petraeus, now dressed in a dark suit in a sea of Army fatigues, was jovial and entertained the crowds with jokes and stories from his 37-year Army career. He shook hands, watched nearly 15,000 march on a parade field and led several rousing cries of "Hooah!" and "Air Assault!"
Thousands of troops have been celebrating the division's history this week at the installation on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, even as its troops prepare for upcoming deployments to Afghanistan. The coming years are not likely to match the high tempo of deployments and training that the division has been under in the past decade.
"Since 9/11 the new greatest generation has demonstrated the power and effectiveness of the division on the battlefields, adding extraordinary episodes to our division's already distinguished history," he said.
After Iraq, he went on to lead U.S. Central Command, but then was tapped by President Barack Obama in 2010 to take over U.S. forces in Afghanistan to stop Taliban insurgents from regaining ground in that country. He retired last year to take the helm of the CIA, but he looked comfortable back among his Army colleagues.
"I feel very much in the company of heroes again as I see so many individuals who helped earn for our division the great reputation it has enjoyed for so long," he said."
CIA director visits Army post and unit he once led
" FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) -- CIA Director David Petraeus returned to Fort Campbell on Friday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the famed 101st Airborne Division, a unit he once led in combat in Iraq.
The retired four-star general is well known at Fort Campbell, where he earned his reputation as one of the military's smartest leaders early in the war in Iraq. He tested out a counterinsurgency strategy while leading the division in northern Iraq, then went on to direct the Iraq troop surge to tamp down swelling violence.
During his brief visit back, Petraeus, now dressed in a dark suit in a sea of Army fatigues, was jovial and entertained the crowds with jokes and stories from his 37-year Army career. He shook hands, watched nearly 15,000 march on a parade field and led several rousing cries of "Hooah!" and "Air Assault!"
Thousands of troops have been celebrating the division's history this week at the installation on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, even as its troops prepare for upcoming deployments to Afghanistan. The coming years are not likely to match the high tempo of deployments and training that the division has been under in the past decade.
"Since 9/11 the new greatest generation has demonstrated the power and effectiveness of the division on the battlefields, adding extraordinary episodes to our division's already distinguished history," he said.
After Iraq, he went on to lead U.S. Central Command, but then was tapped by President Barack Obama in 2010 to take over U.S. forces in Afghanistan to stop Taliban insurgents from regaining ground in that country. He retired last year to take the helm of the CIA, but he looked comfortable back among his Army colleagues.
"I feel very much in the company of heroes again as I see so many individuals who helped earn for our division the great reputation it has enjoyed for so long," he said."