3rd Infantry Division Operations - Fort Stewart - U.S. Army

42 3rd Infantry Division Operations
B1 bombers flew from distant stations, at times flying so
far that in flight refueling was required. On command, planes
rained steel on the earth below. They released precision guided
munitions and kept collateral damage to a minimum. By the
end of January 2008, the Air Force had dropped a stunning half
million pounds of bombs in support of Multi-National Division
- Center. Over 4,000 sorties were carried out.
The United States Navy contributed aircraft for attack
missions as well as intelligence and electronic warfare support.
On the ground, the 3rd Mobile Unit and later the 6th MU, Navy-led
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) battalions, placed
joint forces bomb experts with dismounted infantry in order to
counter IEDs and locate and destroy weapons caches. In ten
months, it responded to over 3,000 incidents.
The Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps also provided
police forces, military working dogs, and other specialties
needed to fight insurgents, counter explosives, and search for
people. Likewise, Task Force Marne received significant assistance
from the quiet professionals of the Combined Joint Special
Operations Task Force (CJSOTF).
The CJSOTF launched operations, usually at night, to
capture and kill key insurgent leaders across the battlefield.
U.S. SOF also often teamed with Iraqi Special Operations forces
to kill high value individuals and capture many more. Needless
to say, the success of Task Force Marne was joint effort.