The Road to Safwan: The 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry in the 1991 ...

8 Task Force Iron
The 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade, commanded
by Colonel David Weisman, provided
the headquarters for Task Force Iron.
Based in northern Germany near the ports of Hamburg and Bremen,
it was a relic of the Cold War when planners feared that
large armies from the Warsaw Pact would overrun NATO defenses
before they could send reinforcements. Formally designated
the 2nd Armored Division-Forward, it was now assigned
to the 1st Infantry Division bringing the Big Red One up to the
normal complement of three brigades. In its role as Task Force
Iron, it consisted of two ground battalions (1st Battalion, 41st Infantry
and the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry). The 4th Battalion, 3rd
Field Artillery had the direct support role, backed by sixteen additional
battalions of artillery prepared to provide indirect fire
support and counter-battery fire. Attack helicopter support
came from the 1st Battalion, 1st Aviation, and support for tearing
down the berm came from the 317th Engineer Battalion. 1
Task Force Iron had a two-part mission that would require it
to advance north of the border into Iraqi territory. First, it had to
win the counter-reconnaissance battle in the sector where the 1st
Infantry and the 1st (UK) Armoured Divisions would enter Iraq.
These kinds of engagements normally include destroying or repelling
the enemy’s reconnaissance elements and denying the
hostile commander any observation of friendly forces. 2 In this
case, it was essential that the Iraqi commander not discover the
actual attack’s location. If he found out, he could react by maneuvering
forces to the area and attacking troop concentrations
and combat engineer units with direct and indirect fire. While
the American forces would still prevail, the division’s attack
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