Fort Stewart’s top commander, Maj. Gen. James Rainey, has said before he thinks the U.S. will be fighting a full-scale war sooner rather than later.
The general said it again Friday morning during a “patching” ceremony for the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48thInfantry Brigade, which is now part of the 3rdInfantry Division.
“This isn’t about budgeting, it isn’t about force structure,” Rainey said of the 48th’s becoming part of the 3rdID, adding, “This is 100 percent about readiness, about getting ready to go to war. The enemy that we’re going to face when we go to war is good, when we go to war we’re going to fight a tough enemy, and we’re going to fight them on our watch, while we’re in command.”
Not that the 3rdID has orders to deploy, Rainey told those who attended the ceremony, and then repeated it for media covering the ceremony.
“For you guys over there (the media), the division is not in receipt of any orders to deploy anywhere,” the general said. “I just know what I know. I’m a pretty simple person, I look around the world and there’s still only one superpower in the world, us, the United States of America that stands for what’s good about the world.”
Rainey said that stand has made the U.S. enemies, who “hate us and hate what we stand for, hate our way of life. The one thing all those people have in common is they live on the land, and that’s what we do in the Army. We’ve got a bunch of great teammates, they’re all important, but the enemy lives on the land and the Army dominates land warfare.”
The general then wrapped up his remarks by telling commanders at the ceremony to be prepared.
“I think we need to be ready. I hope I’m wrong, but I think we’re going to war,” Rainey said. “I think it’s going to happen sooner rather than later, I think it’s going to happen while you commanders are leading your formations. When that happens it’s going to take all 980,000 soldiers in the Army, all of them. All 18 divisions, all 60 brigade combat teams. When it does, it’s going include the 3rdInfantry Division, it’s going to include the 48thIBCT. When that happens, we’re going to be ready. All of us.”