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

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Figure 147. 101st Airborne Division’s attacks into An NajafClearing An Najaf also required a major change in the division’s thinking. The staff hadfocused its planning originally against Republican Guard defenses in the Karbala Gap. As thefocus changed to supporting the continued advance of the 3rd ID, it wound up fighting, asPetraeus put it, “the enemy they found, not the enemy they planned for.” 48Although the division ultimately used two brigades to clear the town, with 2nd BCTattacking from the north and 1st BCT attacking from the southwest, the task of making theinitial penetration of the city fell to Colonel Hodges’ 1st BCT. Just before the attack, the unitmade last-minute adjustments and drew ammunition for the battle that everyone believed wouldbe fierce. Building on the foothold Deoliveira won, Hodges’ brigade attacked on 31 March.Changing the mission from isolation to clearing happened fast enough to preclude methodicalplanning at the battalion level. Lieutenant Colonel Chris Hughes, commanding the TF 2-327IN on TF 1-327 IN’s northern flank, quickly assembled an armed leaders’ reconnaissance,using an attached tank platoon and a borrowed M113. Hughes brought rich experience to hisbattalion with five combat training center rotations at the JRTC and NTC under his belt. Healso commanded an OPFOR company at the JRTC for 22 rotations and deployed as a “lessonslearned” collector to Haiti. Hughes believed in combined arms and joint fires and now he setthe conditions to put theory into practice. His reconnaissance party included the two companycommanders who would lead the attack on 31 March. Hughes brought his D Company and itsTOW antitank missile launchers forward to overwatch from just outside the city. He positionedhimself about 5 kilometers outside of Najaf where he could see and control the fight. Hughes’team included both an Air Force Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) and a Combat ObservationLasing Team (COLT) from the brigade.268
Hughes launched his reconnaissance at 1500 to place the sun at their backs and in the eyesof potential defenders. The reconnaissance party immediately came under fire from dozens ofparamilitary troops operating from inside and around a mosque. They attacked the tanks andM113 energetically with RPGs, small arms, and even howitzers in the direct-fire mode. Hughesbrought in fighters, artillery, and Army aviation to support the team, which also managed toenter a minefield. Eventually, the party returned safely, covered by the battalion’s antitankcompany, artillery, and CAS. 49 The fight lasted nearly 4 hours. D Company, along with thereconnaissance party, had all the fight they wanted. D Company fired 56 TOW missiles againstpoint targets, actually managing to hit one of the Iraqi towed howitzers. D Company fired ontargets the tanks could not reach, adding their efforts to the 65 tank rounds the Abrams crewsfired. British Tornados, and US F-16s, B-52s and B-1s dropped 12 500-pound bombs, seven1,000-pound bombs and five JDAMs. Gunships fired several hundred rockets and unknownnumbers of machine gun rounds. Finally, the reconnaissance party broke contact and, usingplastic explosives, cleared a lane out of the minefield and returned unharmed. 50Using tanks and Brad-The Weak, the Stupid, and the Braveleys attached from TF 2-70AR, Hodges formed comincluding“. .. . the weak, the stupid and the brave.” The weak theyLieutenant Colonel Hughes described the enemy in An Najaf asbined arms teams supported could force to run.by artillery and air. Overthe course of the fighting, “The stupid would fire from a window and come back and fire fromhe methodically carved out the same window. The brave were the ones that would let us bypassparts of the city and even- them and wait and attack us.”Lieutenant Colonel Christopher P. Hughes,tually reached the Ba’athcommander, TF 2-327 IN,Party headquarters. Highly interview 23 May 2003.Andres J. Rodriguez, US ArmyFigure 148. 101st Airborne soldiers, south of An Najaf269
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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
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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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Page 279 and 280: Figure 124. PSYOP leaflets to minim
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Page 283 and 284: moment. The ground had been plowed
Page 285 and 286: The brigade also jumped with a high
Page 287 and 288: Figure 129. TF 1-63 AR Abrams tank
Page 289 and 290: NOTES1. Captain Michael Matthews, O
Page 291 and 292: 59. Colonel Rodney Mallette, MTMC,
Page 293 and 294: 133. Oliver.134. Marcone.135. Ibid.
Page 295: 202. Colonel Blair Ross, A Transfor
Page 298 and 299: to Baghdad in the east, and the I M
Page 300 and 301: Figure 133. Objectives in the vicin
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Page 304 and 305: three brigade combat teams, 1st BCT
Page 306 and 307: paid off in spades. ThroughoutI’v
Page 308 and 309: Figure 135. Enemy disposition in th
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Page 312 and 313: Figure 140. Sample district council
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Page 316 and 317: Lieutenant General Wallace on theFi
Page 318 and 319: Figure 144. Objective MURRAYabout I
Page 320 and 321: Figure 145. Enemy and friendly disp
Page 322 and 323: The Approach: Isolating An NajafAft
Page 326 and 327: 130th Engineer BrigadeFigure 149. E
Page 328 and 329: When his battalion attacked into to
Page 330 and 331: The FeintAt 0600, the Thunderbolts
Page 332 and 333: on the way to Al Hillah. Accordingl
Page 334 and 335: that the adversary seldom behaves a
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Page 338 and 339: The protracted fighting in As Samaw
Page 340 and 341: Figure 156. The scheme for the isol
Page 342 and 343: Launching the AttackHaving rearmed
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Page 346 and 347: Electronic attacks against enemy co
Page 348 and 349: Figure 164. TF 3-69 AR attacks to s
Page 350 and 351: The Smoke Mission at Objective PEAC
Page 352 and 353: Figure 166. 2nd BCT attacks to Obje
Page 354 and 355: Figure 168. Iraqi tank burning in t
Page 356 and 357: Accelerating the AttackDuring this
Page 358 and 359: The ApproachTrue to his word, Grims
Page 360 and 361: V CorpsFigure 171. Civilian aircraf
Page 362 and 363: First Lieutenant Mark Schenck, writ
Page 364 and 365: Essayons: Sergeant First Class Paul
Page 366 and 367: to one of the road craters at appro
Page 368 and 369: Figure 177. Platoon leaders of Apac
Page 370 and 371: Figure 179. The 3rd BCT Objectives
Page 372 and 373: 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,
Page 586 and 587:
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,
Page 598:
The United Strates Army in Opera
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