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FORT BRAGG, N.C., 07.27.2004 U.S. military spokesman in Iraq gets new job The Army general who spoke for coalition military forces in Iraq has said farewell to his artillery command at Fort Bragg and is preparing to move to a new assignment at U.S. Central Command in Florida. Brig. Gen. Mark T. Kimmitt relinquished command last week of the 18th Airborne Corps Artillery in a ceremony at the post. Kimmitt, 50, was deputy director of operations and military spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq. He spent about six weeks in command of the artillery unit before being put into the slot in Baghdad, said Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, commander of Fort Bragg and the 18th Airborne Corps. Vines said Kimmitt's greatest service was that ``he spoke for those soldiers who were not in a position to speak for themselves.'' Kimmitt will go to Tampa, Fla., to serve as deputy director for plans and policy for Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central Command. The command oversees forces in the Middle East. His replacement, Brig. Gen. Peter M. Vangjel, will take command Aug. 17. The corps artillery has about 2,000 soldiers at Fort Bragg. Their weapons include the 155mm howitzer, the tracked Multiple Launch Rocket System and the wheeled High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. The organization works with nine National Guard brigades, which could bring the size of the organization to 15,000 to 20,000 soldiers. The brigades are at armories in North Carolina, Virginia, Rhode Island, Kansas, Missouri, South Carolina, Colorado, Tennessee and New Hampshire. Information from: The Fayetteville Observer, http://www.fayettevillenc.com
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