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

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perimeter wielding a rifle. At Objective CURLY, the medics hunkered down, prepared to fightto protect the wounded. Medics and medical evacuation crews performed what some mightdescribe as miracles and did it with precision and compassion. Medical support troops foragedfor supplies, kept generators running, and did a host of other mundane but daunting tasks undersevere conditions. They too deserve to have their story told.Although On Point has been able to survey the tactical-level fighting in narrative form,it has not accounted for all of the tactical fights. For example, On Point reviewed the 82ndAirborne’s operations at As Samawah but did not discuss their subsequent operations. The 82ndfought important engagements aimed at securing the lines of communication and reducing AdDiwaniyah after As Samawah that are not covered here but warrant examination. Similarly,there are numerous tactical engagements that deserve further investigation and more thoroughaccounting than possible in On Point. To complete the story, junior officers, noncommissionedofficers, and soldiers need to tell their stories. Junior officers and noncommissioned officersand their troops carried the tactical fights that produced success. They have a contribution tomake to the body of knowledge regarding combat operations—their accounts will inform theway we train and educate soldiers and their leaders.On Point tantalizes, but does not deliver on the many and varied tactical actions of specialoperations forces. Their story clearly needs telling. The sheer diversity of special operationsforces will make their story complex, but to understand really what happened in OIF theiraccount is absolutely essential. Similarly, joint and Army intelligence efforts could not beexamined fully here—that effort must come later. As it becomes possible to do so, assessingthe success of intelligence efforts needs to be done.At some point it will be possible to develop a reasonably clear sense of what the Ba’athistregime’s leadership intended and how it directed execution. That accounting and the thinkingand efforts of the Iraqi military leadership will enrich understanding of US vulnerabilities andsuccesses. Determining the composition and intent of the paramilitary forces that operated inOIF will probably be more difficult. The effort to understand their motivation and operationswill be essential to understanding the campaign from the perspective of the Iraqi military andparamilitary alike. More important, such an effort will help the services consider implicationsof the campaign that may apply elsewhere.Finally, there are two important general accounts that should be undertaken from the Armypoint of view. On Point will need to be revised once Iraq operations are better understood, whenunits that fought major combat operations return from Iraq and are able to update their ownhistories, and when participants are more readily available for follow-up interviews. The secondeffort is more important—that is the history of operations since 1 May. Collection of data forthat effort is under way by the Center of Military History, but that work cannot be completedand the story cannot be written until operations against the insurgency are concluded.434
NOTES1. General Peter J. Schoomaker, chief of staff, US Army, 1 August 2003.2. Ibid.3. Lieutenant General William Wallace, commander, V Corps, summary transcription of interview withColonel French Maclean, US Army, Retired, 15 April 2003.4. Schoomaker.5. Lieutenant Colonel Eric “Rick” Schwartz, commander, TF 1-64 AR, 2nd BCT, 3rd ID, interview byLieutenant Colonel Dave Manning, undated.6. Personal account of [name withheld], “The full range of emotion,” 23 July 2003.435
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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
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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
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 and 484: Chapter 8TransitionPeace enforcemen
Page 485 and 486: On Point has not been able to deliv
Page 487 and 488: I Guess I Made an ImpressionThis fi
Page 489: him the opportunity to honor his cl
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
Page 535 and 536: 51st Movement Control Detachment (D
Page 537 and 538: HHC/418th Quartermaster Bn59th Quar
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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,
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The United Strates Army in Opera
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