Entire 101st Airborne headed to Afghanistan within year
 By Alexandra Hemmerly-Brown , Army News Service
  
 WASHINGTON (April 28, 2010) — Throughout 2010 and  2011, more than 20,000 Soldiers from Fort Campbell's 101st Airborne  Division will deploy to Afghanistan, the first time an entire Army  division has deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom within one year. During a press conference Monday, Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, commander  of the 101st, told reporters his division is well-suited to make a  presence in the Afghan theater because of previous experience in the  country – the 101st's 3rd Brigade Combat Team was the first regular  Army unit deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 following the Sept. 11  terrorist attacks.  "We're working on campaign continuity ... we've built relationships with  our Afghan counterparts, and we've trained for Afghanistan, we know the  culture ... for training purposes, I think it's the right thing to do,"  Campbell said on why the entire division will be deploying.   The 101st will be largely responsible for training and assisting Afghan  army forces, but instead of living separately from their counterparts,  the division will be exercising a new training method called "combined  action."   Combined action, a concept begun by the 82nd Airborne Division, is an  integrated-troops approach, where battalions of U.S. Soldiers train,  live and eat with their Afghan equivalents around the clock.  "That's going to make a huge difference in their credibility with the  [Afghan] people ... it's the way of the future," Campbell said of  combined action.   Campbell said the division's training to prepare for the upcoming  deployment has been more deliberate and pointed than in the past,  because they know what their mission will be overseas. Some of that  training has included a strong emphasis on culture immersion and Dari  and Pashtu language instruction, he said.  "We've been totally focused on Afghanistan," said Campbell. "I really  think I can see a difference. From a training standpoint, it's been  pretty unique for us, and I think it will pay us great dividends as we  go into Afghanistan."  Campbell also said that he's been on two "leader reconnaissance" trips  to Afghanistan with his primary staff, in order to get a better feel for  the upcoming mission, and he's in constant contact with the commander  he'll be replacing.   Additionally, he said the 101st has already trained with the French,  Polish and Afghan leaders they'll be working alongside in Afghanistan  during an exercise at Fort Campbell.   Part of President Barack Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan, Campbell  said that with the head start he's had, he believes his division can  affect change within six months of arriving. However, he said, insurgent  forces will not take the influx in U.S. troops lightly, and that  corruption is also a big operational concern.  "I think just like Iraq, [insurgents] know we're going to bring in  additional forces," Campbell said. "They are not going to let us bring  in additional forces without a fight."  But Campbell is hopeful of the result the 101st can bring.  "I think the next six months are going to be crucial. We're going to  have the most forces we've ever had in Afghanistan, and I think we'll  see a big difference," Campbell said.