Tensions Abroad Stir a Whirlwind at Fort Bragg as Soldiers Deploy

In the past, the deployments have had an impact on local businesses, with fewer customers going into restaurants and entertainment venues. Families often delay large purchases until their relative has returned.

“Any time soldiers leave Fort Bragg, you definitely see it,” said Travis Fowler, a barber who has worked for 17 years in a shop that sits near the base’s perimeter. “The guy you normally see on a Friday, you don’t see for a while.”

Military officials said that an infantry battalion of roughly 650 soldiers were deployed after protesters stormed the United States Embassy compound in Baghdad. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper called the American response “an appropriate and precautionary action.” The troops are likely headed to Kuwait.

Now, many more were preparing to join them, with some 2,800 others leaving in the coming days. Army officials said that was likely the largest rapid deployment for military purposes since 1989, when troops invaded Panama to oust the dictator Manuel Noriega. But soldiers also swiftly shipped out for humanitarian missions, to Haiti after the earthquake in 2010 and to the Gulf Coast in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina.

Troops rotate through turns being on “two-hour recall,” meaning they have to be able to report within the limited window. Reserves of munitions, as well as water and food, are stored on base. But families are not as familiar with this kind of rapid deployment, sending them rushing to prepare.

“That’s a whole lot of getting yourself in order,” said Lt. Col. Mike Burns, a public affairs officer for the 82nd Airborne. “It’s a surprise for a lot of people, but the soldiers are happy and proud to do it.”

On a rainy Saturday morning, carrier planes on a tarmac at Fort Bragg were loaded with supplies. And in a warehouse of a building, men and women waiting to head out napped on wooden benches, their backpacks repurposed as pillows. Copies of the Bible and Quran had been set out on a table, along with rosaries and prayer cards.