FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Up to 2,500 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division will deploy to Afghanistan to maintain security at a southern Afghanistan base where suspected Taliban and al-Qaida detainees are lodged, military officials said Wednesday.

        “This war on terrorism is not a sprint. It is going to be a marathon,” said Maj. Gen. Richard A. Cody, the air assault division's commanding general, at a news conference on post. “And the 101st Airborne Division and its soldiers have been preparing for the eventuality of this deployment for quite some time.”

        Maj. Gen. Cody revealed that about 700 soldiers from the 187th Infantry Regiment of the 101st — dubbed “Rakkasans” — who deployed in recent weeks from Fort Campbell are in Pakistan on a separate undisclosed mission.

        The recent deployment order commits a total of 2,700 to 3,200 Rakkasans in Operation Enduring Freedom, America's war on terrorism.

        “This will not be a quick or easy mission as indicated by our president when he was here over Thanksgiving,” Maj. Gen. Cody said.

        The 101st Airborne Division, based in Fort Campbell, about 50 miles north of Nashville, Tenn., is a rapid deployment division trained to go anywhere in the world in 36 hours.

        The soldiers will leave this month, officials said. The type of equipment they will take and their date of departure was not revealed.

        Their mission will be to relieve Marines at the base in Kandahar where detainees are being held. They'll also help secure an airfield there, said Col. Frank Wiercinski, who commands the 3rd Brigade of the 187th.

        “We're sharing information now, what we're taking, what they've got on board, what they've been doing. So it'll be much like a good relay race,” Maj. Gen. Cody said of working with the Marines. “We have a very solid baton to toss.”

        The soldiers could also see combat against the Taliban or al-Qaida forces or help in humanitarian missions, Col. Wiercinski said.

        Col. Wiercinski said he could not comment on whether the Rakkasans would be used to help look for Osama bin Laden.

        During the Gulf War, the 101st lead the longest air assault into enemy territory in history.

        Maj. Gen. Cody said he believes the terrain in Afghanistan is similar to what the division saw in parts of Iraq and northern Saudi Arabia, as well as during a mission to Somalia, which will work to its advantage.

        Since Sept. 11, the division's leaders have participated in an “intel fusion” in the military that has examined the terrain in Afghanistan and what effect it has on helicopters, weapons systems and soldiers, as part of the preparation for deployment, Maj. Gen. Cody said.

        Maj. Gen. Cody, who as a lieutenant colonel was the Apache helicopter pilot in the 101st credited with firing the first shot during the Gulf War, said the division was caught a bit off guard when 16,000 soldiers were deployed to fight in the Gulf War. He said it was “kind of like stealing second base without a lead.”

        The division's soldiers today have been focusing on trusting each other, and are prepared to deploy, Maj. Gen. Cody said.

        “Today, we're stealing second base and we've got a heck of a jump on the pitcher,” Maj. Gen. Cody said.

        The parachute-equipped Rakkasans obtained their name during the U.S. occupation in Japan following World War II. Loosely translated, it means “falling down umbrella” in Japanese.

        Pfc. Paul Bixler, 25, a radio telephone operator, said morale among the Rakkasans is high. He said he's looking forward to going to Afghanistan.

        “I signed up for the Army to do something good, and now I feel I have a chance to use what I've been taught, what I've been trained, to go over and make the world maybe a safer place,” Pfc. Bixler said

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