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

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national training capability led by the Joint Forces Command will form a key capability toenable the services to continue to produce the kind of leaders who performed superbly in OIF.The services have important roles to play in assuring they provide leaders from private togeneral who are able to function in this environment. For the Army, that means examining andaltering schools and training centers as appropriate. The Army’s excellent training centers: theBattle Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, the National Training Center at FortIrwin, the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, and the Combat Maneuver TrainingCenter at Hohenfels, Germany, will continue to provide the venues for collective unit trainingfor the Army, but they too will undergo examination and alteration.Leader development is more than training. Although expensive and time consuming,the education of soldiers and leaders who are capable of critical thinking and perspective isabsolutely indispensable if the Army is to develop what General Schoomaker calls “the GeorgeC. Marshalls for the new era.” 2 Leader education should seek to produce officers and seniornoncommissioned officers who are able to solve complicated problems in joint and interagencycontexts during operations from combat to conflict termination.Combined arms and joint operations, the higher form of combined arms, were among thetop five reasons for success in major combat operations. Combined arms organizations ableto task-organize efficiently and rapidly proved essential to meeting the challenges posed inOIF. The inherent agility and flexibility disparate forces bring to the fight seem obvious now,but in recent years there have been bitter debates over exactly how to organize forces andwhether units with differing mobility and combat power should even be combined. At theextreme end, one group argues for fixed units, organized at the brigade level. However, thesewould be difficult to “mix and match” to meet the explicit and transitory requirements of thecontemporary environment. On the other extreme, there are those who argue not to changeanything. Maintaining unit purity and task-organizing as required appeals to this group. Thisapproach does not afford the “plug and play” modules that future expeditionary operations arelikely to require.At the tactical level in the JSOTFs and at the operational level in the conventional forces,joint operations were the rule, not the exception. I MEF and V Corps demonstrated the closesttactical cooperation between the Army and the Marine Corps since the Pacific campaignsof World War II. The air component’s units moved and fought at the strategic, operational,and tactical levels and performed brilliantly at all levels. Rapid and precise attacks on timesensitivetargets at all three levels demonstrated the inherent flexibility of the air arm. Airinterdiction and CAS had been a bone of contention between the Army and the Air Force, inparticular. In this campaign, thanks in part to personal efforts on the part of senior leaders,but also as a consequence of the maturation of joint doctrine and joint operations, that seampractically disappeared. As Lieutenant General Wallace put it, “We’ve gotten more close airsupport and more availability of CAS and more access to CAS than I can ever remember. I goback to Vietnam, and we didn’t have that kind of CAS in Vietnam.” 3 CAS proved decisive inassuring tactical victory and, on more than one occasion, decisive in preventing tactical defeat.Perhaps just as important, CAS provided a strong boost to troops on the ground, who wereprofoundly grateful to the airmen who flew those missions. What had been a source of irritationhas become a source of satisfaction and admiration.428
On Point has not been able to deliver authoritatively on the importance of special operationsforces (SOF) and the effectiveness of integrating SOF with conventional operations. Due mostlyto continued classification of these operations, that story remains to be told. Anecdotes aboundamong the conventional units that attribute the best intelligence and combat information tothat developed by SOF units. JSOTF-North operations appear to have fixed some of Iraqi unitsthat manned the Green Line. JSTOF-West denied sanctuary to Iraqi units, particularly to Iraqimissile units. The heroic actions of the special operations troopers in the south stood out everyday because of their close integration into V Corps and I MEF operations.The contributions of the civil affairs and PSYOP components of SOF, while included, aredifficult to assess this early. Civil affairs troops absolutely reduced human suffering and enabledthe delivery of humanitarian assistance, and they are at the center of the continuing operationsin Iraq. PSYOP, as part of information operations (IO), achieved some success as alluded to inOn Point, but telling the whole story must wait because assessment of IO is perhaps the mostdifficult of tasks and requires details not yet available.After World War II, the Army debriefed enemy field commanders in considerable detailto determine what they had intended, to learn how they fought and what they perceivedabout Allied actions. The documents and studies that emerged obviously are essential tounderstanding both what happened and why. Sixty years later, historians and soldiers continueto learn from that effort. As On Point went to the publisher, some early results of a similareffort emerged. On Point does not have the benefit of those early results for a number ofgood reasons, including sensitivity and the fact that the analysis of that data is ongoing. Whenthat data becomes available, the relationship of enemy and coalition actions will be betterunderstood. That understanding is essential to writing the authoritative history of OperationIRAQI FREEDOM.In title and in themes, this study unabashedly claims the Army served On Point for the jointteam and the nation in OIF. OIF was essentially a land campaign brought to decision in groundcombat by the Army, Marine Corps, coalition ground forces and SOF. That does not mean thatthe ground forces achieved decision alone—they did not. The Army also provided essentialservices to the other members of the joint team and contributed essential C2 systems, includingBFT. However mundane, both supporting theater logistics and providing C2 components areessential to sustaining joint campaigns.In other campaigns, the Army will not be on point. Ground operations may sometimesbe merely precursors to set conditions for decisive operations from the air. In Kosovo, theair campaign proved sufficient to bring Slobodan Milosevic to the table. The Army enteredKosovo as part of a coalition force to enforce the agreement won by coalition airmen. At IwoJima, marines paid for a B-29 base with their blood. These facts neither diminish the role of theArmy in Kosovo nor that of the Marine Corps at Iwo Jima. They do emphasize the importanceof joint operations in the past and their continued relevance in the future. They also suggestthat each of the services must be able to lead as well as support operations. Equally important,each of the services is liable to provide the “core” of joint force headquarters. The implicationsof this possibility are far reaching.In staking out the position that the Army was on point in OIF, the study group also felt boundto suggest that the Army should also be on point in supporting and leading joint transformation.429
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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
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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
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
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
Page 483: Chapter 8TransitionPeace enforcemen
Page 487 and 488: I Guess I Made an ImpressionThis fi
Page 489 and 490: him the opportunity to honor his cl
Page 491: NOTES1. General Peter J. Schoomaker
Page 494 and 495: DESERT STORM as commander of VII Co
Page 497 and 498: Combined Forces Land Component Comm
Page 499 and 500: Facilities Engineer Team410th Milit
Page 501 and 502: 244th Theater Aviation Brigade (OPC
Page 503 and 504: Facilities Engineer Detachment BFor
Page 505 and 506: Detachment/Marine Light Attack Heli
Page 507 and 508: Detachment/Marine Aerial Refueler/T
Page 509 and 510: 4th Light Armored Recon Battalion (
Page 511 and 512: 10th Logistics Planning Augmentatio
Page 513 and 514: 315th Tactical PSYOP CoTactical PSY
Page 515 and 516: Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aerial Veh
Page 517 and 518: 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry DivisionH
Page 519 and 520: Tactical PSYOP Team 221/362nd Tacti
Page 521 and 522: Control Ground Station Team 5/5/D/3
Page 523 and 524: Ground Surveillance Systems Platoon
Page 525 and 526: Eagle-Intel/Analysis and Control El
Page 527 and 528: A/326th Engineer BattalionTeam 1/27
Page 529 and 530: Elements/4th Air Support Operations
Page 531 and 532: 864th Engineer Battalion (-) (Comba
Page 533 and 534: 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
Page 565 and 566:
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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