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

54 3rd Infantry Division Operations
EFP networks in Iskandariyah and Musayyib. The main effort
for Marne Avalanche was the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne),
25th Infantry Division. The CAB played a major supporting
role with air assault missions and 1,073 hours of attack
helicopter direct support. The 2nd BCT supported the operation
with indirect fires and both 3rd HBCT, located along the Tigris
River, and the 2nd BCT, 10th Mountain Division performed
blocking operations in support from the north and east.
Marne Avalanche was a three phase operation that began on
July 1st and continued through August 15th. It had three phases.
Phase 1 was used for setting conditions, conducting reconnaissance
of the area, and developing targets. Phase 2 was the
disruption phase aimed at both AQI and JAM extremists. Phase
3 was decisive operations and included close cooperation with
Iraqi Security Forces.
Approximately 50 operations were conducted at the platoon,
company, or battalion level. The combined effects of Marne
Avalanche resulted in a significant reduction in the number of
attacks in the Euphrates River Valley. Highlights of this operation
included 17 enemy combatants killed in action, 156 detainees
apprehended (with nine being high value individuals), over
60 IEDs and 26 weapons caches found, 13 boats used for weapons
trafficking destroyed, 170 buildings cleared, and nearly
1,000 persons registered in the biometric database.
Simultaneously, the division conducted Operation Marne
Husky in the Tigris River Valley with the 3rd CAB as the main
effort. Both Marne Avalanche and Marne Husky had the effect
of putting intense pressure on the enemy.
Marne Avalanche resulted in the establishment of the Jurf as-
Sakhr Patrol Base and the identification of 13 new Sons of Iraq
(SoI) groups with hundreds recruited to join. Additionally, the
ISF gained experience and public confidence while conducting