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

PrefaceOn Point is a study of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF) as soon after the factas feasible. The Army leadership chartered this effort in a message to the major commandson 30 April 2003. In his guidance, Army Chief of Staff General Eric K. Shinsekidirected “a quick, thorough review that looks at the US Army’s performance, assessesthe role it played in the joint and coalition team, and captures the strategic, operational,and tactical lessons that should be disseminated and applied in future fights.”For those of us in the Operation IRAQI FREEDOM Study Group (OIF-SG),this translated into three separate products. A “quick look” lessons-learned briefingproduced in July, less than 30 days after returning from the theater. On Point—thiswork—is the second product and was largely completed by mid-August 2003. Finally,the most significant product is the archive of 119,000 documents, some 2,300 interviewsand 69,000 photos archived with the support and assistance of the CombinedArms Research Library at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.We had straightforward guidance and a short time horizon. Simply put, On Pointtells the Army’s story in the only context possible—a combined-arms ground force operatingin a joint environment. There is no other way for the Army to tell its story—theArmy cannot get to a theater of war, let alone fight, in any context but that of a jointoperation. Accordingly, the OIF-SG relied heavily on the cooperation and support ofunits in the field and from our colleagues on the other services’ collection teams. Wealso drew on the more deliberate efforts of the Center of Military History and unit historians.We encountered only helpful attitudes, with the exception of one or two Iraqicombatants who fired on or threw grenades at members of the team. The joint lessonslearned team from the Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) assigned a liaison officer tothe OIF-SG who proved helpful in working with our joint counterparts. The CombinedForces Land Component Command (CFLCC) historian, the V Corps historian, theArmy Materiel Command historian, and various branch historians all were abundantlyhelpful.Like the soldiers bound for the theater, we trained at two different replacementcenters, and most of us deployed via military or Civilian Reserve Air Fleet aircraft.Once in theater, we traveled freely throughout area of operations. Members of theteam visited Europe, Turkey, and nearly a dozen sites in the US, ranging from DoverAir Force Base, Delaware, to Fort Bliss, Texas. To do this in the time allowed, we dependedon others for help. We found eager and enthusiastic support at every stop.Interpreting history is difficult; interpreting ongoing events is even more difficult.On Point is not the seminal history of the OIF or even of the Army in OIF. We understandthe risks of a rapidly produced history and believe they are worth taking to gleaninitial insights, or what General Frederick M. Franks, Jr. described after DESERTSTORM as “glimmerings” of change.We wrote On Point with a readership of soldiers and those familiar with armiesin battle in mind—discussing not only the fighting, but also describing the hard work“behind the scenes” that made the combat victories so successful. On Point is aniii