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

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The 507th Maintenance CompanyWhen OIF began, many Americans viewed warfare with almost clinical detachment,assuming that the war could be concluded rapidly, with precision and with few casualties. Theyalso believed that American troops armed with the latest technology and precision munitionscould not possibly become lost or surprised in combat. They continued to believe this despitethe evidence of Black Hawk Down and the inconclusive results of the air war in Kosovo,possibly because, with the exception of Black Hawk Down, all they saw were gun cameratapes accompanied by cocksure appraisals of the incredible precision of American weapons. 16Americans believed in the apparent precision of our armed forces without consideringadaptation by the enemy or the frequent fallibility of the best technology or, for that matter, thehuman condition.Humans tire and make mistakes, even if their weapons do not. When theorists and expertsdescribe the modern battlefield as nonlinear, fast-moving, and noncontiguous, they fail toaccount for the implications of that assessment. If modern warfare is nonlinear—it means justthat—there are no lines and no visible demarcation between the “front” and “rear.” If there isno front and no rear, then nowhere on the modern battlefield is truly safe. An adaptable enemymay not wear uniforms and may not behave in a manner consistent with conventions developedin the West. If there are no rules—then there are no rules. In March 2003, the condition of thebattlefield at An Nasiriyah, the town controlling the major southern crossing on the EuphratesRiver, was truly “noncontiguous,” “nonlinear,” and very much occupied by an adaptableenemy prepared to fight “asymmetrically.”Moving OutThe 507th Maintenance Company arrived at An Nasiriyah just over 60 hours after it hadstarted out to join the 3rd Forward Support Battalion (FSB), 3rd ID convoy to Objective RAMS.RAMS lay some 350 km northwest of the 507th’s base camp at Camp VIRGINIA, which wasnear the Kuwait-Iraq border. The 507th departed Camp VIRGINIA at 1400 on the 20th with 64soldiers and 33 vehicles. Driving cross-country almost due west, it arrived in Assault PositionDAWSON at 2100. There, the unit refueled and rested until departing the next morning at0700. The second leg of the convoy took the 507th from DAWSON to Assault Position BULL,where it would link up with the 3rd FSB. The company drove some 35 km, crossed the Iraqiborder, and arrived at BULL at noon on the 21st. 17At BULL, Captain Troy King, commanding the 507th, met with the operations officerof the 3rd FSB, who provided him a CD-ROM disk containing orders and route information.Although 3rd FSB intended to travel cross-country for a part of the way, ultimately it wouldtravel up Highway 8—called Route BLUE—to a point just south of An Nasiriyah whereHighway 8 met Route JACKSON, or Highway 1. There, soldiers at a traffic control pointwould direct the 600-vehicle convoy from Route BLUE to Route JACKSON. Somehow, Kingonly understood that he would travel Route BLUE. 18In any case, the 507th departed as part of the 3rd FSB column at 1800 on 21 March, movingcross-country to Assault Position LIZARD, which lay to the northwest, across 80 km of difficultterrain. During the night, vehicles in the convoy had trouble due to breakdowns, getting stuckin the sand, or becoming separated from their unit in the dark. Falling behind, Captain King154
decided to break his convoy into two serials. He led the first serial, consisting of vehicles thatcould keep up. First Sergeant Robert Dowdy recovered mired or broken-down vehicles andassembled them into the second, slower serial to continue the movement north. 19Captain King and the lead serial arrived in LIZARD at 0530 on 22 March. First SergeantDowdy and the second group finally reached LIZARD at 1600. Meanwhile, King reported hissituation to his Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Fischetti, and to the 3rd FSB, whichconfirmed there would be no changes to the route. The 3rd FSB also advised King that theconvoy would depart as scheduled at 1400. Rather than leave at the scheduled time, King optedto wait for Dowdy and the trailing vehicles, sending his executive officer on with the remainderof the company. 20At 1930 on the 22nd, King and Dowdy departed LIZARD with 33 soldiers, including two(Sergeant George Buggs and Private First Class Edward Anguiano) who were assigned to 3rdFSB. King had 18 vehicles, including two that were being towed. The serial contained threeHMMWVs, two of which were towing trailers, and eight 5-ton tractor-trailers, one of whichwas being towed. There were also five 5-ton trucks, including a wrecker towing a water trailer,two cargo trucks towing trailers, a fuel truck, and a disabled 5-ton cargo truck. Finally, therewere two 10-ton wreckers, one towing the broken-down 5-ton shop van and the other towingthe broken-down 5-ton tractor-trailer. 21Figure 84. The 507th Maintenance Company sequence of events155
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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
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Figure 32. Soldiers posing with a D
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Figure 33. V Corps assault command
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ight thing to do. More than 6,200 s
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defense coordinator (TAAMCOORD), an
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attalion leadership, with the USARE
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The 18th MP Brigade, stationed in M
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and environment of Iraq. They condu
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proper mix of combat, CS, and CSS u
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Given all that can go wrong, the pe
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Jeremiah Johnson, Combat CameraFigu
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opportunities such as a sudden coll
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27. Major General Robert Blackman,
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80. Lieutenant Colonel John Huey, p
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Summary of EventsSaddam Hussein and
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• Breaching the berm at the borde
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humanitarian assistance supplies, w
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Intelligence Supporting Operational
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Moving the start of the ground camp
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Figure 42. PSYOP leaflets distribut
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Igor Paustovski, Combat CameraFigur
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Figure 45. Comparison of Iraqi grou
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to secure the first two primary obj
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Crossing The BermThey are coming to
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Figure 50. 3rd ID border breach sch
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covering forces rapidly and simulta
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After the aborted mission, morale s
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act of passing the change of route
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Figure 54. RRP EXXON and FARP SHELL
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Air Base (An Nasiriyah), seize the
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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
Page 201 and 202: working in the LSA and units moving
Page 203 and 204: Colonel Melvin Frazier, who command
Page 205 and 206: 101st Abn Div AARFigure 78. 101st A
Page 207 and 208: Courtesy of V CorpsFigure 80. 3rd I
Page 209: All of the estimates accurately ass
Page 213 and 214: Figure 86. The 507th route of movem
Page 215 and 216: Figure 87. The 507th Maintenance Co
Page 217 and 218: With 3rd BCT, 3rd ID securing the l
Page 219 and 220: However, employing LRS is not a Lon
Page 221 and 222: the attack on Baghdad. Practically
Page 223 and 224: Marcone and Grimsley justifiably ex
Page 225 and 226: Figure 92. Ambush Alley—officiall
Page 227 and 228: advantage in fighting in the dark.
Page 229 and 230: Robert Woodward, US ArmyFigure 93.
Page 231 and 232: Figure 95. Chemical soldiers from t
Page 233 and 234: all of them. From a broader perspec
Page 235 and 236: While never perfect, the Army and e
Page 237 and 238: Figure 96. 11th AHR attack scheme f
Page 239 and 240: Still, the regiment planned routes
Page 241 and 242: Moreover, with less than half of th
Page 243 and 244: Figure 99. Apache attack helicopter
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Page 247 and 248: AdaptationsFollowing the attack, Ar
Page 249 and 250: PlanningThe planned 101st attack ag
Page 251 and 252: The 2-101st intended to attack the
Page 253 and 254: Figure 104. 101st Airborne Division
Page 255 and 256: Figure 107. 3rd ID’s scheme to en
Page 257 and 258: followed. The third tank, Lieutenan
Page 259 and 260: 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•
Page 575:
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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