Record numbers of US troops transiting Irish airport

Anyone know why need so many soldiers now, even more than the number of full scale invasion in march?

Are they for rotation or replacement for the KIA and wounded?

From www.turkishpress.com...

Shannon airport, in southwestern Ireland, has been used extensively as a refuelling stop by both US military and civilian aircraft ferrying troops and equipment to and from the Gulf.

The number of US soldiers passing through Shannon is expected to exceed last year's total of 125,000 before the end of this month.

While nto conclusive, the figures give some indication of the scale of the continuing US involvement in Iraq.

A spokeswoman for Shannon Airport Authority told AFP that in the nine months to September, 112,803 soldiers on 1,114 flights had passed through the airport.

Most of the flights were going to, or coming from, Iraq or nearby Gulf military installations, with a few also headed to Germany or elsewhere.

This compares to 96,403 soldiers on 1,239 flights from January to December last year -- a period that included the March 2003 invasion of Iraq by US, British and other forces.

Both military and civilian aircraft carrying soldiers are using the airport, and the number of troops on board has been rising in recent months.

The highest monthly figure went through in September, with 22,525 troops stopping off on 150 flights. This followed 14,830 who went through in August and 11,932 in July.

Because of Ireland's policy of military neutrality, special permission had to be given by the government for US use of the airport, which has been the target of a number of anti-war protests.

But could many of tose soldiers be the same ones going back and forth?

Ireland is a huge layover point for people coming back from Iraq. I flew from Iraq to Ireland, layover for an hour or so, then to Maine, layover for an hour or so, to Ft Hood, and then the next day home to Ft Bragg.

When I went to Iraq, we flew straight from Ft Bragg to Germany, then onto Iraq.

I'm pretty sure Ireland is just for people coming back. Don't know why Ireland , though, but they've been using it since the beginning.