On Point: the United States Army in Operation Iraqi ... - Boekje Pienter

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The 18th MP Brigade, stationed in Mannheim, Germany, began planning for OIF inDecember 2001. 78 Identifying the specific MP units to deploy and fight proved difficult sincethe FORSCOM list of available units fluctuated daily based on worldwide MP obligations.The war on terrorism, in particular, absorbed many MP units from both the Active and ReserveComponents. Their missions ranged from airport security to force protection at the Pentagonand military installations all over the world to detainee operations in Bagram, Afghanistan, andGuantanamo Bay, Cuba.Originally, the 18th MP Brigade planned to have two battalion headquarters and 8-10MP companies available when combat operations commenced. 79 This formation, in addition tothe division MP companies, would enable the 18th MP Brigade to execute all of its specifiedand implied tasks, including EPW operations, high-value asset (HVA) security, area securityoperations, and main supply route (MSR) regulation and enforcement. To bring combat unitsinto the theater more quickly, CFLCC assumed risk and moved the MP units toward the tailend of the force flow. As additional MP units arrived, they immediately moved north and joinedthe fight.As planning progressed and execution neared, it became obvious that there would be significantlyfewer MP units in-theater when the war started than originally planned based on thenew force packaging decisions. These decisions had the greatest effect on the division provostmarshals, who were responsible for coordinating MP support to the divisions with only half ofthe required police forces. As the provost marshal for the corps’ lead division, Lieutenant ColonelJohn Huey, the 3rd ID provost marshal, developed the EPW handling plan for the offensive.His main concern was that he would not be able to relieve maneuver commanders of EPWsin a timely manner. After analyzing the mission, he concluded that the three general supportplatoons (each with 21 soldiers) of the division’s 3rd MP Company would have to limit theiroperations to one specified task: EPW operations. He also realized he could not afford to operatein accordance with current doctrine, which calls for holding EPWs for 12-24 hours until thecorps MPs moved them to a corps holding area. 80To manage the problem, Huey formed Task Force EPW. In addition to the division’sMP company, the task force received the 546th Area Support Hospital, the 274th MedicalDetachment (Field Surgical Team), a tactical human intelligence (HUMINT) team, a mobileinterrogation team, a criminal investigation division (CID) division support element, and anadviser from the Staff Judge Advocate. 81 With the 3rd MP Company, the task force had theresources necessary to receive, process, and safeguard prisoners. This proved to be a highlysuccessful, responsive task force that relieved maneuver commanders of the burden of prisonersacross the full breadth of the battlefield.Preparing for the Worst: Task Force Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO)Based on Saddam’s performance during DESERT STORM, planners at all echelons fromthe Department of Defense down to V Corps and the I MEF assumed that the Iraqis wouldset fire to their oil fields. Destroying the oil production infrastructure would produce both anecological and economic disaster of huge proportions for the region and the Iraqi people. Inanticipation, the Department of Defense assigned the Army responsibility for developing aplan and the means to put out the fires and rebuild the oil infrastructure, even as CENTCOMconsidered plans to attack rapidly to seize the oil fields if the Iraqis moved to set them ablaze. 8270
The Army assigned the task to the Corps of Engineers, Southwest Division, in Dallas,Texas, commanded by Brigadier General Robert Crear. Crear assembled a joint team ofmilitary and civilian personnel, including contractors from Kellogg, Brown, and Root, whichhad already demonstrated expertise in fighting difficult oil field fires during DESERT STORM.Task Force RIO’s missions included: extinguishing any fires; safely shutting down oil facilitiesto prevent accidents prior to full restart of the Iraqi oil industry (because the Iraq oil reservesare under pressure, an uncontrolled shutdown can be as disastrous as setting fires); conductingenvironmentally sound reduction of spills; repairing and restoring facilities; and assisting theIraqis in restarting their oil industry after the war. 83In February and March, Task Force RIO mobilized and deployed both military and contractpersonnel focused on the worst-case scenario of hundreds of fires. In the first two weeks ofMarch, four sets of firefighting equipment arrived. In the end, RIO did not have to confronthundreds of fires. The Iraqis damaged nine wells, setting seven afire. Two gushed oil ontothe ground. By the middle of April, Task Force RIO had put out all of the oil field fires inthe southern fields. In late April, RIO got access to the northern fields, where damage provedinsignificant.The lack of damage stemmed from several factors. First, coalition forces responded rapidlyat the first hint of Iraqi sabotage, reaching the southern fields by 23 March. Second, Iraqi oilworkers took matters in hand, safely shutting down facilities before departing. For example, atthe refinery in Basra, Iraqi oil workers executed safe shutdown and welded doors shut to preventlooting. Finally, coalition engineers executed safe shutdown of several wells and facilities. 84The combination of combat operations, courageous decisions by Iraqi oil workers, and TaskForce RIO helped preserve the southern oil fields for the future, democratic Iraq.Free Iraqi ForcesThe Army program to recruit, train, deploy, and employ Iraqi citizens as Free Iraqi Forces(FIF) had operational and tactical implications. This effort actually began with the IraqiLiberation Act, passed in 1998, which provided for assistance to Iraqi democratic oppositionforces. 85In June 2002, the Army received the mission to train up to 5,000 FIF for employmentduring a future campaign to liberate Iraq. The Army assigned the mission to TRADOC, due toits expertise with training initial-entry soldiers for the US Army—that is, changing civiliansinto soldiers. During the fall of 2002, a TRADOC task force created a program of instructionand prepared to train the incoming FIF recruits. The planners selected Taszar, Hungary, as thesite for FIF training. By January 2003, the trainers, primarily USAR civil affairs soldiers, weremobilized and ready. 86The task force arrived in Taszar on 25 January and began preparing to train the Iraqis. Thefirst class of 55 Iraqi citizens started their 10-day course on 17 February. While training wasongoing, planners coordinated with CFLCC and Army units in Kuwait to determine where theFIF could best be employed. By 4 March, the initial class of FIF arrived in Kuwait. Meanwhile,a second class of 23 FIF started training back in Hungary. 87Upon arrival in Kuwait, FIF were assigned to V Corps, I MEF, and the 352 Civil AffairsCommand. During the war, the FIF trained various coalition units on the culture, politics,71
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The United States Army inOperation
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The Library of Congress Cataloging-
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PrefaceOn Point is a study of Opera
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AcknowledgementsHistorians prefer t
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called him unkind names and questio
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Table of ContentsForeword..........
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Figure 78. 101st Airborne Division
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Table of Call Out BoxesThe SIPRNET
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The 8 April Counterattack .........
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Saddam Hussein and the Ba’athists
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Army special operations soldiers, a
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• Information and Knowledge. The
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successful battles and engagements
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timelines at the beginning of each
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Chapter 1Operation DESERT STORM to
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combat. The US Army’s AirLand Bat
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The domestic political landscape in
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was to experiment to anticipate cha
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The authors also attempted to accou
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The SIPRNET RevolutionIn addition t
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efore World War I. 16 The extended
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commanders to consider the battlesp
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presence is not possible. Moreover,
Page 59 and 60: • The Air Force’s C-17 Globemas
Page 61 and 62: GAO Report. Military Transformation
Page 63 and 64: On 20 September 2001, President Geo
Page 65 and 66: All of these efforts led to a sweep
Page 67 and 68: NOTES1. General Frederick M. Franks
Page 69 and 70: Chapter 2Prepare, Mobilize, and Dep
Page 71 and 72: joint organizations played central
Page 73 and 74: Figure 10. Key coalition camps and
Page 75 and 76: CLCC LOG and Title 10 PowerPoint pr
Page 77: Figure 17. Tern delivers Army water
Page 80 and 81: Pre-positioned EquipmentIn Europe d
Page 82 and 83: allies in the region in providing s
Page 84 and 85: organization to leverage joint inte
Page 86 and 87: surprise but allowed a gradual buil
Page 88 and 89: Figure 24. V Corps objectivesin any
Page 90 and 91: that supported them, while denying
Page 92 and 93: Webster and Spider Marks. Marine Br
Page 94 and 95: V Corps Command Brief, 15 July 2003
Page 96 and 97: V Corps Command Brief, 15 July 2003
Page 98 and 99: completing its work in February. BC
Page 100 and 101: Figure 32. Soldiers posing with a D
Page 102 and 103: Figure 33. V Corps assault command
Page 104 and 105: ight thing to do. More than 6,200 s
Page 106 and 107: defense coordinator (TAAMCOORD), an
Page 108 and 109: attalion leadership, with the USARE
Page 112 and 113: and environment of Iraq. They condu
Page 114 and 115: proper mix of combat, CS, and CSS u
Page 116 and 117: Given all that can go wrong, the pe
Page 118 and 119: Jeremiah Johnson, Combat CameraFigu
Page 120 and 121: opportunities such as a sudden coll
Page 122 and 123: 27. Major General Robert Blackman,
Page 124 and 125: 80. Lieutenant Colonel John Huey, p
Page 126 and 127: Summary of EventsSaddam Hussein and
Page 128 and 129: • Breaching the berm at the borde
Page 130 and 131: humanitarian assistance supplies, w
Page 132 and 133: Intelligence Supporting Operational
Page 134 and 135: Moving the start of the ground camp
Page 136 and 137: Figure 42. PSYOP leaflets distribut
Page 138 and 139: Igor Paustovski, Combat CameraFigur
Page 140 and 141: Figure 45. Comparison of Iraqi grou
Page 142 and 143: to secure the first two primary obj
Page 144 and 145: Crossing The BermThey are coming to
Page 146 and 147: Figure 50. 3rd ID border breach sch
Page 148 and 149: covering forces rapidly and simulta
Page 150 and 151: After the aborted mission, morale s
Page 152 and 153: act of passing the change of route
Page 154 and 155: Figure 54. RRP EXXON and FARP SHELL
Page 156 and 157: Air Base (An Nasiriyah), seize the
Page 158 and 159: Figure 58. The 3rd BCT scheme of ma
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also captured more than 200 EPWs, i
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Figure 61. Division Central Collect
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Figure 63. Distance from Objective
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Figure 67. Routes of march north to
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Staff Sergeant Dillard Johnson, 1st
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did not see me and began to fire on
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At 1430 on 23 March, 3rd BCT took c
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During the fighting at As Samawah,
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24. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jay Deh
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FLOYD, Johnson’s platoon fought y
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Army Spec. Joshua Earl,a military p
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April 1, 2003, black smoke rises fr
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US Army photoSgt. 1st Class Anothon
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Chapter 4The March Up-CountryI don
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Figure 74. March up-country sequenc
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working in the LSA and units moving
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Colonel Melvin Frazier, who command
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101st Abn Div AARFigure 78. 101st A
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Courtesy of V CorpsFigure 80. 3rd I
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All of the estimates accurately ass
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decided to break his convoy into tw
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Figure 86. The 507th route of movem
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Figure 87. The 507th Maintenance Co
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With 3rd BCT, 3rd ID securing the l
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However, employing LRS is not a Lon
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the attack on Baghdad. Practically
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Marcone and Grimsley justifiably ex
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Figure 92. Ambush Alley—officiall
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advantage in fighting in the dark.
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Robert Woodward, US ArmyFigure 93.
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Figure 95. Chemical soldiers from t
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all of them. From a broader perspec
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While never perfect, the Army and e
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Figure 96. 11th AHR attack scheme f
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Still, the regiment planned routes
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Moreover, with less than half of th
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Figure 99. Apache attack helicopter
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her husband had been shot and was i
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AdaptationsFollowing the attack, Ar
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PlanningThe planned 101st attack ag
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The 2-101st intended to attack the
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Figure 107. 3rd ID’s scheme to en
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followed. The third tank, Lieutenan
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the division elected to block the e
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3-73-7CAVCAVFightingFightingininAnA
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Figure 112. Relief in place of 3-7
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enemy as they had at As Samawah. Ar
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Figure 114. Lieutenant General Wall
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airborne assault, the units had beg
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From 29-30 March, the 82nd conducte
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Company at Checkpoint Charlie, subo
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towns during the five simultaneous
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Figure 124. PSYOP leaflets to minim
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The 173rd’s combat capability als
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moment. The ground had been plowed
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The brigade also jumped with a high
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Figure 129. TF 1-63 AR Abrams tank
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NOTES1. Captain Michael Matthews, O
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59. Colonel Rodney Mallette, MTMC,
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133. Oliver.134. Marcone.135. Ibid.
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202. Colonel Blair Ross, A Transfor
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to Baghdad in the east, and the I M
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Figure 133. Objectives in the vicin
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crossed a river or entered the maze
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three brigade combat teams, 1st BCT
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paid off in spades. ThroughoutI’v
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Figure 135. Enemy disposition in th
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ack toward Baghdad, and began condu
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Figure 140. Sample district council
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virtually every type of mission pos
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Lieutenant General Wallace on theFi
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Figure 144. Objective MURRAYabout I
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Figure 145. Enemy and friendly disp
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The Approach: Isolating An NajafAft
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130th Engineer BrigadeFigure 149. E
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When his battalion attacked into to
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The FeintAt 0600, the Thunderbolts
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on the way to Al Hillah. Accordingl
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that the adversary seldom behaves a
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learned from the 3rd ID, SOF troops
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The protracted fighting in As Samaw
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Figure 156. The scheme for the isol
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Launching the AttackHaving rearmed
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IN and the tactical command post—
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Electronic attacks against enemy co
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Figure 164. TF 3-69 AR attacks to s
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The Smoke Mission at Objective PEAC
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Figure 166. 2nd BCT attacks to Obje
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Figure 168. Iraqi tank burning in t
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Accelerating the AttackDuring this
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The ApproachTrue to his word, Grims
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V CorpsFigure 171. Civilian aircraf
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First Lieutenant Mark Schenck, writ
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Essayons: Sergeant First Class Paul
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to one of the road craters at appro
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Figure 177. Platoon leaders of Apac
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Figure 179. The 3rd BCT Objectives
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TF 2-69 Armor, the brigade’s main
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Sanderson led from the front near t
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caught fire and ammunition began to
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NOTES1. Anthony H. Cordesman, The I
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61. Ibid. 2-70 AR; and Lieutenant C
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131. 2nd BCT, 3rd ID, 3. See also L
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Chapter 6Regime Collapse“There ar
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Figure 184. Attack to BaghdadBaghda
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Actions ElsewhereAs the corps’ an
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While some soldiers worked to help
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[of Saddam Hussein] were located. T
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These soldiers collect and process
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As the situation developed during t
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Despite the relative ease of their
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Mason Lowery, US ArmyFigure 190. TF
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Thunder Run of 7 AprilTask: Attack
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warrant. 40 If conditions wereGoing
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they came upon them, passing them o
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Figure 195. TF 1-64 AR movement int
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Figure 197. The 2nd BCT disposition
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dazed. The explosion and fires prod
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Specialist Gates took it it and ran
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Task OrganizationOn the evening bef
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LARRY, and Gator would secure the n
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The Pros from Dover—Special Force
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About the same time as Johnson move
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Rage faced dismounted Republican Gu
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Firing on all Cylinders— —Engin
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Figure 206. The Iraqi counterattack
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Figure 207. The Iraqi counterattack
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Silver Star RecommendationSpecialis
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NOTES1. Anthony H. Cordesman, The I
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Post). This information comes from
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Chapter 7ImplicationsSoldiers, sail
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OIF demonstrated that the COE is no
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from the War in Iraq.” The Russia
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Bank and Gaza provided grist for Ar
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Although urban operations in OIF pr
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Fort Irwin “replicated” the ene
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level did have satellite communicat
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The evidence of OIF does not compel
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Of course, building a doctrine and
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also find ways to achieve interdepe
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Special Forces in ActionOn 20 20 Ap
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Liaison between Army special forces
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Simply stated, operational maneuver
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petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POL
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Logistics SuccessesThere are some g
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Following the incident, the Army la
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Grouping so many capabilities in th
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The efficacy of net-enabled means t
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Information OperationsOperation OIF
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There are some obvious OIF implicat
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Most tactical unit commanders claim
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NOTES1. JFCOM and TRADOC are moving
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Chapter 8TransitionPeace enforcemen
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On Point has not been able to deliv
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I Guess I Made an ImpressionThis fi
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him the opportunity to honor his cl
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NOTES1. General Peter J. Schoomaker
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DESERT STORM as commander of VII Co
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Combined Forces Land Component Comm
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Facilities Engineer Team410th Milit
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244th Theater Aviation Brigade (OPC
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Facilities Engineer Detachment BFor
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Detachment/Marine Light Attack Heli
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Detachment/Marine Aerial Refueler/T
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4th Light Armored Recon Battalion (
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10th Logistics Planning Augmentatio
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315th Tactical PSYOP CoTactical PSY
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Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aerial Veh
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1st Brigade, 4th Infantry DivisionH
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Tactical PSYOP Team 221/362nd Tacti
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Control Ground Station Team 5/5/D/3
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Ground Surveillance Systems Platoon
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Eagle-Intel/Analysis and Control El
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A/326th Engineer BattalionTeam 1/27
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Elements/4th Air Support Operations
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864th Engineer Battalion (-) (Comba
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HHC (-)/22nd Signal Bde17th Signal
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51st Movement Control Detachment (D
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HHC/418th Quartermaster Bn59th Quar
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507th Medical Co (Air Ambulance) (A
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AMC Logistics Support Element FWD -
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381st Military Police Detachment (E
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513th Transportation Co (Medium Tru
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249th Quartermaster Co (Repair Part
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946th Transportation Co (Medium Tru
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Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 2
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Glossary A2C2AAAAAMDCAASLTABC-BLABC
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C1C2C2C2XC2PCC3C4C4ISRC5C6CACACOMCA
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EUCOMEXORDF/AFAFAIOFARPFBCB2FIFFIST
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JLOTSJOEJOPESJRACJRTCJSOTFJSOTF-NOR
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OBJODAODSOEFOHOIFOIF-SGO/OOOTWOPCON
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SOCCESOCCENTSOCOMSOFSOPSPSPACECOMSP
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BibliographyInterviews, Discussions
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Group InterviewsInterview with CFLC
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Dilanian, Ken. “Airborne Jumps In
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Joint Publication 4-01.8. Joint Tac
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• 335th Theater Signal Command•
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Lieutenant Colonel David Kolleda.
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103 Military Intelligence Battalion
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603rd Aviation Support Battalion ·
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General, USMC, Chief of Staff, CFLC
Page 584 and 585:
Davis, Wilbur, Staff Sergeant, USA,
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Operations Officer, National Ground
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219, 223, 243, 278, 296, 314, 331,
Page 590 and 591:
198, 284, 315Objective RAMS · 102,
Page 592 and 593:
427, 430, 518Schwartz, Eric ‘Rick
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USS Higgins, Aegis Destroyer · 65,
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The United Strates Army in Opera
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On Point: the United States Army in Operation Iraqi ... - Boekje Pienter

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