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

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Figure 203. TF 3-15 IN disposition along the LOC, 7 April 2003Receiving the OrderPortions of TF 3-15 IN arrived at SAINTS late on the afternoon of 6 April, after beingrelieved from the mission to secure the east side of the Euphrates River crossing at PEACH.That afternoon the rest of the task force attacked south on the east bank of the Euphrates todestroy remaining enemy forces south of the crossing. Lieutenant Colonel Twitty had not yetreached SAINTS when Colonel Perkins called a huddle to issue the operations order for thenext morning’s attack into Baghdad. Twitty sent his operations officer, Major Roger Shuck, inhis place. Once he reached SAINTS and met with Shuck, Lieutenant Colonel Twitty developedhis concept for the operation including organizing Zan. Twitty then used an empty, bombedoutbuilding without a roof to plan and issue the attack order. Soldiers pulled a tarp overthe top of a room in the building and used ponchos to prevent light from leaking out of thesmashed windows. At midnight, Twitty issued the order for an attack at 0600. He then had hiscommanders talk through a simple rehearsal, moving yellow “sticky” notes around on a roughsketch of the objectives to show they understood his scheme of maneuver and intent. LieutenantColonel Twitty described issuing the order as a very dramatic and tense moment for all thosepresent. They were exhausted and they expected a hard fight. Twitty commented, “I looked intothe eyes of everyone in that bombed-out building, and for the first time, I saw real fear. After thebattles in the city on 5 April by our sister task force, we knew this would be bad.” 74Twitty developed a concept of operation similar to Perkins’ scheme. He planned to securehis objectives from south to north in order. Gator, his mechanized infantry company team, ledthe task force, followed by Rage, his tank company team, and Zan. Zan would secure ObjectiveCURLEY as the remainder of the task force continued on. Rage would secure Objective362
LARRY, and Gator would secure the northernmost objective, MOE. Twitty intended to positionhimself on Objective LARRY to ensure he remained in radio range with all of his units. At 0620on 7 April, Twitty’s task force crossed the line of departure following the Tuskers. 75ExecutionAs 2nd BCT moved north, the enemy called up reinforcements. Enemy resistance seemedto slacken for a bit as the Tuskers moved north but intensified as TF 3-15 IN approached,apparently as word spread that the Americans had returned. Lieutenant Colonel Twitty sensedconditions had changed from those the task force had encountered earlier in the campaign.Twitty felt that up to this point in the campaign the enemy had shown a “certain softness” orunwillingness to fight to the death. On 7 April he sensed a grim determination in the opposition. 76Although the enemy’s attitude may have changed, the pattern of resistance remained similarto the way the enemy fought at As Samawah and north. As they had done previously, the enemyused small fighting positions along the highway. They also used ramps and overpasses to theiradvantage, both for cover and to attain the advantage of high ground. Side streets and rampsafforded them access to the flanks of advancing US units as well. Finally, the enemy reinforcedthe fighting without apparent close coordination, but in greater and growing numbers. Afterthe first thunder run, the brigade knew very well that the enemy would use the overpasses;accordingly, the artillery fire plan included firing airbursts over the overpasses. Twitty foundthat the fighting against opposition literally on the edge of the road made using artillery andCAS difficult. Nearly all of the missions called were danger-close—that is, so close to thefriendly troops that they were likely to produce both friendly and enemy casualties. That didnot stop the 3rd ID troops from calling danger close missions. They called plenty of them. 77One of the principles of military operations in urban terrain is that an attacking forcerequires significant engineer support, both to assure mobility by clearing obstacles and alsoto develop obstacles to protect the flanks of the advancing forces. TF 3-15 IN applied theprinciple with success during the fighting at all three objectives. Twitty’s troops used armoredcombat earthmovers (ACEs) to knock down light poles and move wrecks to generate obstaclesacross streets and roads coming into the three intersections at LARRY, MOE, and CURLEY.The task force’s engineering efforts paid off as the enemy continued to use a combination ofdismounted and mounted attacks by both combat vehicles and “technical” trucks and attacksby suicide bombers attempting to detonate vehicles inside the Americans’ perimeters. 78 Theobstacles stymied the Iraqis and their foreign fighters and proved critical during the decisivefight at Objective CURLEY.Objective CURLEYAs soon as Team Zan arrived at Objective CURLEY, Captain Hornbuckle organized ahasty defense around the complex road intersection and overpass. Oriented north on Highway8, he placed the Mortar platoon with two tracks facing north and two facing south back downthe highway. Hornbuckle assigned the engineer platoon responsibility for the east side of thecloverleaf intersection and the mechanized infantry platoon responsibility for the west side. Theinfantry platoon first had to attack to clear enemy troops from trenches and fighting positionsthey had built in the area Hornbuckle assigned them to defend. From the outset, Hornbuckleand Gallagher had to use everyone who had accompanied Team Zan to clear the perimeter and363
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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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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
Page 368 and 369: Figure 177. Platoon leaders of Apac
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Page 372 and 373: TF 2-69 Armor, the brigade’s main
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Page 381 and 382: 61. Ibid. 2-70 AR; and Lieutenant C
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Page 385 and 386: Chapter 6Regime Collapse“There ar
Page 387 and 388: Figure 184. Attack to BaghdadBaghda
Page 389 and 390: Actions ElsewhereAs the corps’ an
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Page 393 and 394: [of Saddam Hussein] were located. T
Page 395 and 396: These soldiers collect and process
Page 397 and 398: As the situation developed during t
Page 399 and 400: Despite the relative ease of their
Page 401 and 402: Mason Lowery, US ArmyFigure 190. TF
Page 403 and 404: Thunder Run of 7 AprilTask: Attack
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Page 407 and 408: they came upon them, passing them o
Page 409 and 410: Figure 195. TF 1-64 AR movement int
Page 411 and 412: Figure 197. The 2nd BCT disposition
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Page 415 and 416: Specialist Gates took it it and ran
Page 417: Task OrganizationOn the evening bef
Page 421 and 422: The Pros from Dover—Special Force
Page 423 and 424: About the same time as Johnson move
Page 425 and 426: Rage faced dismounted Republican Gu
Page 427 and 428: Firing on all Cylinders— —Engin
Page 429 and 430: Figure 206. The Iraqi counterattack
Page 431 and 432: Figure 207. The Iraqi counterattack
Page 433 and 434: Silver Star RecommendationSpecialis
Page 435 and 436: NOTES1. Anthony H. Cordesman, The I
Page 437 and 438: Post). This information comes from
Page 439 and 440: Chapter 7ImplicationsSoldiers, sail
Page 441 and 442: OIF demonstrated that the COE is no
Page 443 and 444: from the War in Iraq.” The Russia
Page 445 and 446: Bank and Gaza provided grist for Ar
Page 447 and 448: Although urban operations in OIF pr
Page 449 and 450: Fort Irwin “replicated” the ene
Page 451 and 452: level did have satellite communicat
Page 453 and 454: The evidence of OIF does not compel
Page 455 and 456: Of course, building a doctrine and
Page 457 and 458: also find ways to achieve interdepe
Page 459 and 460: Special Forces in ActionOn 20 20 Ap
Page 461 and 462: Liaison between Army special forces
Page 463 and 464: Simply stated, operational maneuver
Page 465 and 466: petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POL
Page 467 and 468: 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
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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,
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The United Strates Army in Opera
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