CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In the military-heavy communities surrounding Fort Campbell, a sprawling U.S. Army base that straddles the Tennessee-Kentucky line, the war in Iran is on a lot of people’s minds.
The base is home to the 101st Airborne Division, known as “the Screaming Eagles,” which has been a key force in America’s major conflicts since World War II. After Sept. 11, 2001, tens of thousands of troops from the post started regular deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. During troop surges in those countries, yearly combat casualties in the division surpassed some of its deadliest years in Vietnam.
The towns of Oak Grove, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee, surround the base and cater to the soldiers there with military clothing stores, barbershops and fast food restaurants. War memorials and monuments fill the cities’ green spaces. There are American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and military support centers. At Austin Peay State University, in Clarksville, a third of the students are military or veterans…