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

The pilots of 2-101st looked carefullybut found only a small group of antiaircraftweapons set up to guard an ammunition supplypoint. As the AH-64s approached the Iraqiguns, the gun crews ran out of a building toman the systems to fire at the Americans.The pilots engaged and killed the crews anddestroyed the guns before the Iraqis couldman their weapons. Additionally, the flyersdiscovered large caches of ammunition,Those Guys Were Awesome!Working with tanks was pretty good; they letus be infantrymen; good combined arms team.We really liked them because they always hadour back. . . .After this, I will never bad mouth atanker again. Those guys were awesome.Corporal Richard Bergquist,C/2-7 IN, attached to 3-69 ARwhich they reported but were unable to destroy because of low fuel. They continuedreconnaissance flights southwest of Bahr al-Milh Lake the next day. 69On 1 April, just as the aircraft of 2-101st were returning to base after another long dayof looking for enemy forces in the open desert, the unit received an order to send two attackaviation companies to conduct a hasty attack to the southwest side of Bahr al-Milh Lake. VCorps had received a report via JSTARS that was interpreted as a large number of enemyvehicles moving in the area. The corps feared the enemy was mounting a counterattack. 70 Thebattalion’s ground crews immediately went to work rearming and refueling the aircraft. CharlieCompany lifted off within 45 minutes of notification of the mission, a truly amazing feat. Thecompany, along with the battalion commander in his aircraft, proceeded to the objective andconducted an armed reconnaissance of the area. Although they never found a large enemyformation (it probably was not there to begin with), the pilots took advantage of the situationand attacked the large ammunition supply point they had seen the day before. 71On the same day, the corps tasked 6-6 CAV to conduct a force-oriented zone reconnaissanceof the western flank as far as Phase Line VERMONT. Fuel constraints did not permit thesquadron to reconnoiter all the way to the designated phase line. However, it was able to makeit to Phase Line CODY before the aircraft had to return to base. The squadron encountered noenemy forces. Wallace now knew that no significant Iraqi force could threaten his far westernflank as he moved through the Karbala Gap toward Baghdad.The 82nd Airborne Division Clears As Samawah (31 March – 6 April)As Samawah had been a thorn in V Corps’ side since the very beginning of the war. The 3-7CAV, leading the corps’ attack, had fought a tough fight there, as had the following task force,3rd BCT’s TF 2-7 IN. 72 Later the 3rd BCT defeated a long series of attacks launched fromthe city against the division’s vulnerable and vital supply lines. The 2nd Brigade of the 82ndAirborne had relieved the 3rd BCT on 28 March and assumed the mission to keep the Iraqisfrom interfering with the logistics flow north. Colonel Arnie Bray’s brigade would now removethe thorn by entering the town and clearing it once and for all as part of the five simultaneousV Corps attacks.Colonel Bray felt ready for the task. He had no illusions about the fight and no pre-conceivednotions about the enemy. Bray believed the enemy would fight differently than he expected.Bray’s conviction stemmed from two rotations at the NTC, two more at the CMTC, and a fifthat the NTC as part of a Joint Forces Command exercise called MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE.In each of these experiences, along with his experiences in Bosnia and Panama, Bray learned277