Does anyone know why the Army chose to send units TDY to Combat Zones rather than PCS them as we have done in past wars and police actions?

I've heard that they do not have replacements anymore and if you lose soldiers you are just short for rest of tour.

MAJ Ronnie Reams - yes and no. We received replacements up until 75% of the deployment, then we started redeployment we also deployed a little understrength, so HRC was catching up with reality. If you lose a soldier, yes you would receive a replacement but it wasn't the Vietnam era churn. You had your unit deploy. You may have been short a few guys and if you had casualties. All the people who were replaced, went through Rear detachment and were trained by your unit's rear detachment. They drew the same equipment as the unit, and came forward with the weapon they qualified on.

After 2003 unit predeployment training became more and more theater focused. Once it set into unit for unit replacements, units began training for the specific regions of the AOR they would operate in. Part of the transition was predeployment VTCs with the guys you were replacing down to the Company HQ level.

Yes, we did the same, FNGs came to the Main Base Camp and the guys in rear issued their stuff, gave briefings on VD, SAEDA, etc and they ran perimeter patrols to get acclimatized to the heat/humidity. If units coming in for a break they joined then, if not, and needed soon, went out on the supply chopper.

MAJ Ronnie Reams - I'm talking Rear D at Ft Campbell. They came forward and hit the theater hubs only for transportation forward. We had a cell at Bagram to collect them up, but they were dedicated down to the BN level by that point. You left Campbell knowing you were going to 1-506, 2-506, 4-320 FA, 1-61 CAV, BSTB, or 801st BSB etc while you were in predeployment training. You didn't show up at Bagram or BIAP not knowing where you were going, or reassigned on arrival. Family was at Campbell. You PCSed to Campbell as an example, then TCSed to your unit down range. At this time the Division HQ, one of the CABs, and 4BCT were in Afghanistan. The other BCTs were in Iraq. So joes were moving to both theaters at the time.

Now, once you got to BN level, that was dynamically recalculated depending on shortfalls and CO needs. A CO may be short an 11B SSG, but might go to C CO because A COs existing people and mission dictate that C CO gets the next SSG due to their situation and mission.

I got about 10-15 soldiers to my BN in a mass replacement push because our BCT deployed understrength, we shifted our people to the FSCs and maneuver BNs where applicable, and our next higher Log unit 101st Sust BDE pushed their inbound people to cover our shortages because COL Kelley was a stand up guy.

I tell you that because replacements were not a mass movement, not a comparable volume to Vietnam.

Personnel coming in and out flew fixed wing, rotary or ground movement to their FOB/COP.

MAJ Ronnie Reams That 1st ID info is all new to me. Thanks.
SGT Philip Roncari

CSM Charles Hayden - , As far as I know, with WWII generation gone, it is still the Big Black One. All those GOs at that time were WWII vets that knew one another, in fact my 199th Bde CG was C C Ryder, the goat of Westy's class. We always said he was the only CG that had a rock song. LOL Westy not just pick on Dupuy, but other CGs, too. We had to change our Redcatcher patch, but Ryder left the red fireball on it. Dupuy was just the one that raised a public defense of his patch.
Heck, he established the Div whore house complete with assigned medics to insure good hygiene. Cannot remember whether it at Di An, Phouc Vin or Lai Khe, which ever one was at the Michelin Rubber Plantation. After I transferred to the 53rd Sig Bn I traveled a lot over IIFFV AO. He was good to the troops, when I was with 6th ACR, I needed some prescription sun glasses. I mentioned that to a nurse friend of mine from the 24th Evac. She was then at Walter Reed. She says Dupuy was one of her patients. She says wait here and came back a bit later with a note to the optometry shop from the General telling them to make me a pair. Birth control frames, but sun glasses. I was one happy Spec4, would cost me a lot of a months pay had I had to get them on the economy. I only had contact with him on the phone when
running patches back to the world, but had good thoughts about him.

MAJ Ronnie Reams in 07 before deploying we still had the big red one, only upon deploying did we get the subdued version.

The Big Red One is still the Big Red One.
The unit insignia is unchanged, red just isn't an authorized color for ACU patches.
When Big Red One member sew their dress patches on their new Pinks and Greens, the one will be red...

Both, we cross leveled when we got in country and traded our guys with Bloody Red One and 1st Cav, so we not a whole BDE of FNGs. Across all ranks, Jr EM, NCOs and Os. After that, rotation made sure we had some in country vets at all times. One of the faults of US was instead of 12 years of experience the US Army had 1 years experience 12 times.

MAJ Ronnie Reams both very good units, was lucky enough to get both of those on my right shoulder

It sounds like your right seat ride was not sufficient. In my career I was in Aviation, Armor, Finance, DFAS, Budget, DTS, and National Disaster Relief planning. I had to learn new jobs. Sometimes I made Flow Charts, SOPs, or Smart Books. I learned a lot by making those products. Don't forget the Crawl, Walk, Run phases to training. What is your position and what kind of unit are you in?