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

paid off in spades. ThroughoutI’veI’veGotGotA-10sA-10sthe entire campaign, 79 percent ofair operations (15,592 of 19,898 The F-15s and F-16s were good. The A-10s were absolutelyThe F-15s and F-16s were good. The A-10s were absolutelyfantastic. It is my favorite airplane. I love those people. Ifattacks) were CAS or kill box fantastic. It is my favorite airplane. love those people. IfI had enough coins, I’d send one to every A-10 driver ininterdiction—direct targeting of Iraqi I had enough coins, I’d send one to every A-10 driver inthe Air Force just to tell them how much I appreciate themground targets in support of coalition the Air Force just to tell them how much appreciate thembecause when those guys come down and they start thosemaneuver. 10 These were generallybecause when those guys come down and they start thosestrafing runs, it is flat awesome. It is just flat awesome.strafing runs, it is flat awesome. It is just flat awesome.effective in hindering the bulk of theYou can move, and when that A-10 starts his strafingconventional forces from reaching You can move, and when that A-10 starts his strafingrun, you can do anything you want to do as a task forcecities, either by destroying them en run, you can do anything you want to do as task forcecommander because the bad guy’s head is not coming offroute or by inducing the soldiers to commander because the bad guy’s head is not coming offthe hard deck. His head is not coming out of the ground. Ifabandon the equipment. The onlythe hard deck. His head is not coming out of the ground. Ifhe is in a hole, he is hugging Mother Earth and praying tohe is in hole, he is hugging Mother Earth and praying tocomplaint the Army commanders whatever God he can to that he lives through this. You canwhatever God he can to that he lives through this. You canhad was that the clearance of fires maneuver anywhere you want to maneuver as long as thatmaneuver anywhere you want to maneuver as long as thatprocess was sometimes unwieldy. 11 cannon is firing. As long as that A-10 is flying above youcannon is firing. As long as that A-10 is flying above youand turning and moving, you can do anything you wantJSOTF-North, the 173rd Airborne and turning and moving, you can do anything you want toto do.Brigade, and the Kurdsdo.You could hear the roar of screams of joy when [the airYou could hear the roar of screams of joy when [the airThe SOF in northern and west- liaison officer] would come over the radio and say, “I’veliaison officer] would come over the radio and say, “I’veern Iraq continued to harass the got A-10s.” When the A-10s came in, first of all yougot A-10s.” When the A-10s came in, first of all you couldIraqi forces and inhibit them from could see them, second of all the control, the positivesee them, second of all the control, the positive control, overrepositioning against the main effort control, over what we were shooting with was absolutelywhat we were shooting with was absolutely phenomenal.at Baghdad. The JSOTF-North, with phenomenal.Lieutenant Colonel J.R. Sanderson,its 173rd Airborne Brigade and theLieutenant commander, Colonel J.R. TF Sanderson, 2-69 ARinterview 12 May 2003 by Lieutenant commander, Colonel David TF Manning 2-69 ARKurdish forces, conducted a series ofinterview 12 May 2003 by Lieutenant Colonel David Manningattacks to defeat the Iraqi 4th ID (30March), 2nd ID (31 March), 8th ID (2 April), and the 38th ID (2 April). They also attacked anddefeated a unit of the terrorist group Ansar Al Islam during Operation VIKING HAMMER (28­30 March). VIKING HAMMER produced a number of important effects, including securingthe Kurds’ rear area and perhaps causing the Iranian government to deny Ansar Al Islam sanctuary.VIKING HAMMER reinforced Kurdish trust in the US commitment and prompted theKurds to reallocate combat power to attack Iraqi units defending the Green Line. Finally, theyseized Khurma on 28 March. This series of operations, pressing and maintaining contact withthe defending Iraqi forces through a combination of Kurdish direct action and US air power anddeep fires, caused the Iraqi units to begin to melt away.One of the last coordinated tactical Iraqi efforts against JSOTF-North occurred at DebeckaRidge on 6 April against a position known informally as “The Alamo.” There, a small groupof special forces soldiers held commanding positions overlooking a wide valley up which theIraqis advanced. 12 Although greatly outnumbered by their attackers, the special forces trooperswere heavily armed, with .50-caliber machine guns, Mk-19 automatic grenade launchers,60mm mortars and, most important, the Army’s newest antitank weapon, the Javelin missile.They were also able to call on supporting Air Force and Navy fighters and bombers armed withprecision-guided weapons.250