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

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After the aborted mission, morale sank. Some pilots had compared this attack to the 101stAviation Brigade’s legendary deep attack in Operation DESERT STORM; they, too, were goingto be heroes. Their frustration continued to build, adding to the 11th AHR’s collective desireto get into the fight, and possibly played a major role in the unsuccessful deep attack later inthe war. In any case, the 3rd ID crossed the border without the 11th AHR having destroyed thethreat to its north and east. 38Securing LanesWith the preparatory actions in motion, the division was set to penetrate the berm along theeight lanes assigned to the 1st and 2nd BCTs, with the marines crossing through the remainingfour lanes to the east. They all acted in parallel to bring the maximum combat power to bear onthe Iraqis simultaneously. The 2nd BCT’s breaching operations are an excellent example of thedeliberate breaches done across the entire border obstacle.The 3rd ID ordered the 2nd BCT to establish three lanes through the obstacle (Lanes 10A,11, and 12) to support movement of the division cavalry squadron, followed by substantialelements of the division and V Corps. Task Force 3-15 IN, commanded by LieutenantColonel Stephen Twitty, led the 2nd BCT’s breaching operations. The task force consisted oftwo organic mechanized infantry companies (Alpha and Bravo, 3-15 IN), one attached tankcompany (Bravo Company, 4-64 AR), one engineer company (Alpha Company, 10th EN), anda PSYOP team. The task force organized into two elements. Lieutenant Colonel Twitty ledTeam China, composed of tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. The remainder of TF 3-15 IN,all the wheeled logistics and administrative vehicles, formed Team Dragon, led by the battalionexecutive officer, Major Denton Knapp. 39After 19 days of intense rehearsals at Camp NEW YORK, the task force completed its finalpreparations early on 20 March, expecting to breach on the 22nd. B/3-15 Infantry opened the10th Engineer Battalion110Figure 53. Crossing sign, 2nd BCT, 3rd ID, entering Iraq
lane through the Kuwaiti side of the border defenses and established an outpost to maintainvisual contact with the Iraqi border observation posts.While waiting, the soldiers assumed mission-oriented protective posture (MOPP) 4,wearing all of their chemical protective clothing, in case the Iraqis responded with a chemicalor biological weapon strike. 40 At 1224, a Patriot missile fired from D/5-52 ADA, located atCamp VICTORY, intercepted an inbound Iraqi missile about 15 km from Camp NEW YORK.Throughout the day, the Iraqis fired a total of five surface-to-surface missiles. Each time, thesoldiers donned their protective masks and hunkered down in trenches. As elsewhere on thebattlefield, unit chemical officers used point-of-impact data calculated from the Patriot missilebattery and AN/TSQ-36 and AN/TSQ-37 Firefinder radars and automatically transmittedacross the battlefield via the ABCS. 41 With this information, the chemical officer added theeffect of the wind and determined the possibility of any chemical contamination reaching theunit. However, in this case, the missiles were targeted at Camp DOHA, and the TF 3-15 INreturned to MOPP 0 and resumed preparations for combat. 42Less than 3 hours later, at 2100, thedirect-support artillery battalions began20 minutes of 155mm fire directed on Soldiers Looking Out for SoldiersIraqi border observation posts. TF 3-15 IN As the 603rd continued to move north beyond Ascrossed the line of departure (LD) at 2120, Samawah, it passed two soldiers walking along thewith Bravo and Alpha Companies in the road. They were in the middle of nowhere, walkingnorth and south, clearing lanes 10A and 11, north. The convoy stopped and picked up therespectively. 43 Alpha Company “Gators,” soldiers and took care of them until their commanderunder the command of Captain Joshua recovered them personally. The two soldiers wereWright, drew first blood when, at 2138, it cooks on the commanding general’s mess team whohad somehow become separated from their unit.engaged and killed seven Iraqi soldiers at603rd Aviation Support Battalionobservation posts 18 and 19. In the courseunit historyof the breaching operation, the task force destroyed three observation posts, four tanks, three armored personnel carriers, and five trucks. It then established a 10-km-deep security zone and prepared to pass 3-7 CAV, the corps refuel package, and the rest of 2nd BCT through the lanes. Following the successful passage of lines, the 2nd BCT followed 3-7 CAV north. To facilitatemovement and to clear the breach quickly, Colonel David Perkins, the BCT commander, splithis BCT into two groups. Perkins moved armored vehicles, accompanied by the minimumrequired support vehicles such as tankers, as a separate grouping that he called Heavy Metal.Perkins’ executive officer led Rock and Roll, composed of all of the wheeled vehicles. 44Passing Follow-on ForcesConducting the passage of lines was far from routine. Several of the lanes were not astrafficable as expected. Moreover, the sheer physics of pushing the 10,000-plus V Corps vehiclesthrough eight functioning lanes led to some early problems. For example, the 450 vehicles ofthe 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Rich Knapp, werererouted to lane 5 instead of 8A shortly after starting movement. Due to the size of the convoy,communication from the lead vehicle to the trail vehicle exceeded FM range, and the simple111
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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,
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• The Air Force’s C-17 Globemas
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GAO Report. Military Transformation
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On 20 September 2001, President Geo
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All of these efforts led to a sweep
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NOTES1. General Frederick M. Franks
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Chapter 2Prepare, Mobilize, and Dep
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joint organizations played central
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Figure 10. Key coalition camps and
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CLCC LOG and Title 10 PowerPoint pr
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Figure 17. Tern delivers Army water
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Pre-positioned EquipmentIn Europe d
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allies in the region in providing s
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organization to leverage joint inte
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surprise but allowed a gradual buil
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Figure 24. V Corps objectivesin any
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that supported them, while denying
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Webster and Spider Marks. Marine Br
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V Corps Command Brief, 15 July 2003
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V Corps Command Brief, 15 July 2003
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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 110 and 111: The 18th MP Brigade, stationed in M
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 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
Page 160 and 161: also captured more than 200 EPWs, i
Page 162 and 163: Figure 61. Division Central Collect
Page 164 and 165: Figure 63. Distance from Objective
Page 166 and 167: Figure 67. Routes of march north to
Page 168 and 169: Staff Sergeant Dillard Johnson, 1st
Page 170 and 171: did not see me and began to fire on
Page 173 and 174: At 1430 on 23 March, 3rd BCT took c
Page 175: During the fighting at As Samawah,
Page 178 and 179: 24. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jay Deh
Page 180: FLOYD, Johnson’s platoon fought y
Page 183 and 184: Army Spec. Joshua Earl,a military p
Page 185: April 1, 2003, black smoke rises fr
Page 193: US Army photoSgt. 1st Class Anothon
Page 197 and 198: Chapter 4The March Up-CountryI don
Page 199 and 200: 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
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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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