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

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eleased <strong>the</strong> water, <strong>the</strong> result<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>undation of <strong>the</strong> Euphrates valley would have hamperedmovement. Troops from <strong>the</strong> 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment fought for nearly threeweeks aga<strong>in</strong>st a determ<strong>in</strong>ed enemy to reta<strong>in</strong> control of <strong>the</strong> dam, thus prevent<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>undation andprotect<strong>in</strong>g a vital piece of <strong>in</strong>frastructure for <strong>the</strong> <strong>Iraqi</strong> nation. Subsequently, 1-502nd InfantryBattalion of <strong>the</strong> 101st Airborne Division relieved <strong>the</strong> rangers at <strong>the</strong> dam on 19 April 2003.As <strong>the</strong> JSOTF-West forces edged closer to central Iraq, <strong>the</strong> commander determ<strong>in</strong>ed that heneeded additional mobility and firepower on <strong>the</strong> ground to meet <strong>the</strong> <strong>Iraqi</strong> threat. Company C,2-70 AR, orig<strong>in</strong>ally attached to 3rd BCT of <strong>the</strong> 3rd ID, got this mission. <strong>On</strong> 31 March, Capta<strong>in</strong>Shane Celeen’s company attached to TF 1-41 IN was fight<strong>in</strong>g several hundred miles to <strong>the</strong>east-sou<strong>the</strong>ast with <strong>the</strong> 82nd Airborne Division <strong>in</strong> As Samawah. Dur<strong>in</strong>g that fight, C/2-70 ARsupported seiz<strong>in</strong>g a key bridge cross<strong>in</strong>g on Highway 8. <strong>On</strong>e day later, on 1 April, Celeen’scompany was attached to a SOF task force <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> west. Because it would have taken far too longfor <strong>the</strong> unit to drive out to <strong>the</strong> west, <strong>the</strong> company immediately road-marched south to Tallil AirBase for an air movement. 16Arriv<strong>in</strong>g at Tallil early on 2 April, <strong>the</strong> company l<strong>in</strong>ked up with SOF personnel andtransported 10 M1A1 tanks, three M113 armored personnel carriers, a FST-V fire-supportvehicle, two fuel trucks, three cargo trucks, and an HMMWV by C-17 aircraft to H-1 Airfield<strong>in</strong> western Iraq. Air Force transports moved Celeen’s company <strong>in</strong> 15 sorties over three days.The C-17s and <strong>the</strong>ir crews provided flexible and responsive support to a complex problem.They exemplified <strong>the</strong> exceptional agility <strong>the</strong> US jo<strong>in</strong>t forces displayed <strong>in</strong> apply<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> rightunits to <strong>the</strong> right mission. 17<strong>On</strong> arrival at H-1 Airfield, <strong>the</strong> company came under <strong>the</strong> control of <strong>the</strong> 1st Battalion, 75thRanger Regiment. The rangers and <strong>the</strong> tank company road-marched 160 kilometers east,Figure 137. Hadithah Dam3/75th Ranger Battalion253

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