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

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As a company-size enemy force closed in on his position at MONTY, Captain James senta radio message that had not been heard in this war until then. He called for the supportingartillery to fire his final protective fires (FPF). 126 Commanders in a defense designate a line justoutside of their positions along which, if the defense gets desperate, all guns and other weaponsystems available fire, theoretically creating an impenetrable wall of fire. Calling for an FPF is,in Army parlance, “a significant emotional event.”Captain James’fire support team had prepared for this eventuality. They had not only plottedtheir FPF but also adjusted live rounds until they were hitting precisely where James wanted therounds placed. The 1-10 FA entered the firing data for James’ FPF and other planned missionsinto the computers of their Paladin howitzers and waited for the call. When the order came tofire the final protective fires, 1-10 FA unleashed 30 minutes of continuous rapid fire, poundingthe attacking Iraqis and placing a protective wall in front of the hard-pressed Assassins. Inaddition to the artillery FPF, the 3rd BCT also called in more CAS, smashing the final Iraqiassault just short of the bridge. 127 Lieutenant Colonel Sanderson recalled that “the enemy was ina caldron there. The A-10s were at treetop level doing strafing runs against enemy columns.” 128Artillery, air-delivered strikes and direct fires in combination stopped the enemy cold.But the infantrymen and tankers were not the only soldiers in close combat. Whilerepositioning to better support the brigade, A/1-10 FA did something few artillerymen everdo—they engaged and destroyed two T-72 tanks using direct fire from their howitzers. Whilemoving, the artillerymen detected the tanks hiddenunder the trees across a canal. The artillerymen firedwhat they call a direct lay fire mission over “opensights.” The huge 155mm projectiles smashed thetanks, and the battery moved on. 129Undeterred, despite the slaughter at MONTY,the Iraqis continued their efforts to recapture thebridges over the Tigris. Concerned that they mightsucceed, Colonel Allyn requested permission toblow the bridges to deny them to the Iraqis. Thiswould free his forces from static defensive positionsand allow them to continue to clear ObjectiveTITANS on the west side of the river. Initially thedivision denied his request, but a strange situationdeveloped. At the same time that Allyn requestedpermission to destroy the bridge, Iraqis strove toreach the bridge to do the same thing. In fact Iraqisappers managed to place explosives on the easternabutment and actually dropped part of it, but thebridge remained useable. Later, Allyn receivedpermission to destroy the bridge. Airmen droppedthe span neatly on the second try with a pair ofprecision-guided bombs.Figure 208. An Iraqi civilian thanking a U.S.soldier for what the U.S. forces have done toliberate Iraq.376US Army photo
Silver Star RecommendationSpecialist Dwayne TurnerHHC/3-502nd, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)On 13 April 2003, during limited visibility hours, Specialist Dwayne Turner distinguished himselfabove the call of duty through gallantry in action during combat. Elements of Alpha Companyand Specialist Turner’s medical platoon moved south from Baghdad, Iraq, to clear the town of AlMahmudiyah. During this operation, over 200 200 citizens gathered around US US forces, forces, cheering the the fall fall ofthe of the Iraqi Iraqi regime regime under under Saddam Saddam Hussein. Hussein.Iraqi paramilitary forces used the celebration to hastily prepare an ambush against Specialist Turnerand his fellow soldiers. The Iraqi enemy forces opened fire on members of Alpha Company, 3-502ndInfantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division in in a a compound with with fragmentary grenades and and a volley a volley ofa of half-dozen a half-dozen AK-47 AK-47 rifles. rifles. The initial The initial grenade grenade burst in burst the air in the caused air multiple caused multiple casualties casualties and signaled andthe signaled Iraqi enemy the Iraqi forces enemy to forces fire with to their fire with AK-47 their automatic AK-47 automatic rifles from rifles various from buildings. various buildings.After being shot multiple times from AK-47 direct fire to his arms and legs, Specialist Turner exposedhimself to intense automatic fire to treat twenty-three wounded soldiers. Despite being criticallywounded with a heavy loss of blood, Specialist Turner continued to provide lifesaving medical careunder direct fire to two critically injured soldiers. Even with an increasing loss of his own blood,Specialist Turner remained vigilant and spirited in caring for one soldier who received multiple bulletwounds in the chest and legs. Undoubtedly, his spirited and conspicuous action and physical courageunder heavy automatic fire saved the lives of at least three soldiers.Without regard for his own welfare, Specialist Turner continued to stabilize many others for medicalevacuation until he collapsed from loss of blood. His selflessness and willingness to place othersoldiers’ lives above his is in the greatest keeping of past and present soldiers of the 101st AirborneDivision (Air Assault) and the United States Army.Fighting raged around the perimeter of Objective TITANS for the next two days. ColonelAllyn expected to link up with marines from the 1st Marine Division within 12 to 15 hours, butthe marines had to do an assault crossing of a river to enter Baghdad and thus did not arriveuntil 9April. This allowed the Iraqis east of the Tigris River to concentrate their attacks againstthe Hammer Brigade in Objective TITANS. 130On 8 April, the third day of the fight in TITANS, the 3rd BCT sent TF 1-15 IN attackingsouth toward Objective LIONS, still held by 1st BCT. During this attack, Iraqi air defense artilleryseverely damaged an A-10 Warthog. The pilot managed to guide his craft toward friendlyforces and ejected near Objective PEACH, where US troops recovered him. 131 V Corps spentthe day consolidating positions and repelling minor counterattacks by disorganized Iraqi forces.Early in the morning of 10 April, 3rd BCT made its last major attack. TF 2-69 AR attackeddown the west side of the Tigris River along Highway 1 all the way to downtown Baghdad,linking up with Colonel Perkins’ Spartans. Sanderson’s attack, supported by an elaborate setof preparatory fires, rolled over weak and disorganized resistance. 132 TF 1-30 IN followed insupport of TF 2-69 AR and cleared out the last pockets of Iraqi resistance. With this attack VCorps completed its part of the attack to seize and control Baghdad.The 3rd BCT forces occupied the area around what is known as the “mother of allmosques,” a massive structure deep in the center of Baghdad. They discovered that the377
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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
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Figure 177. Platoon leaders of Apac
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Figure 179. The 3rd BCT Objectives
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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
Page 381 and 382: 61. Ibid. 2-70 AR; and Lieutenant C
Page 383 and 384: 131. 2nd BCT, 3rd ID, 3. See also L
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
Page 391 and 392: While some soldiers worked to help
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
Page 405 and 406: warrant. 40 If conditions wereGoing
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
Page 413 and 414: dazed. The explosion and fires prod
Page 415 and 416: Specialist Gates took it it and ran
Page 417 and 418: Task OrganizationOn the evening bef
Page 419 and 420: LARRY, and Gator would secure the n
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: Figure 207. The Iraqi counterattack
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
Page 469 and 470: Following the incident, the Army la
Page 471 and 472: Grouping so many capabilities in th
Page 473 and 474: The efficacy of net-enabled means t
Page 475 and 476: Information OperationsOperation OIF
Page 477 and 478: There are some obvious OIF implicat
Page 479 and 480: Most tactical unit commanders claim
Page 481 and 482: 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
Page 567 and 568:
Group InterviewsInterview with CFLC
Page 569 and 570:
Dilanian, Ken. “Airborne Jumps In
Page 571 and 572:
Joint Publication 4-01.8. Joint Tac
Page 573 and 574:
• 335th Theater Signal Command•
Page 575:
Lieutenant Colonel David Kolleda.
Page 578 and 579:
103 Military Intelligence Battalion
Page 580 and 581:
603rd Aviation Support Battalion ·
Page 582 and 583:
General, USMC, Chief of Staff, CFLC
Page 584 and 585:
Davis, Wilbur, Staff Sergeant, USA,
Page 586 and 587:
Operations Officer, National Ground
Page 588 and 589:
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
Page 594 and 595:
USS Higgins, Aegis Destroyer · 65,
Page 598:
The United Strates Army in Opera
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