From TransFormaTion To CombaT The First stryker brigade at War

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A sniper assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 23d Infantry, peers through the scope of his M21 rifle during a mission in Mosul, Iraq. McChrystal’s 3d Platoon, accounted for seven of the eleven, engaging them at ranges from 100 to 300 yards with an M4 carbine equipped with all-purpose optics. Neither of the American units had casualties. Davis’ contributions were a product of a little-known element of the Army’s Transformation effort. From its inception, the Stryker brigade was organized for urban combat operations. As such, the Army planned to provide the unit with a larger than normal complement of skilled marksmen. The success of McChrystal’s platoon validated that initiative. Over the months to come the sniper sections belonging to each Stryker battalion and the sniper teams that were part of each company would do yeomen’s work against an enemy who frequently employed innocent bystanders as human shields. The engagement in Samarra also provided insight into the value of other efforts the Army was making through the Transformation process to improve the capabilities of the infantry. As the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry’s scout platoon leader, Lieutenant Hicks, remarked, the use of individual equipment such as precision sights, protective eyeglasses, lightweight helmets, better protective vests, specialized items for quickly 24
entering buildings, Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, and miniature radios had all proved effective, speeding up decision making, improving response times, and saving lives. New gear and improved technology, however, had limits. The training of the battalion’s officers and men had made the difference in the battle. The months of hard work they had put into mastering new skills and tactics stood them in good stead. On the evening after the engagement, reasoning that the enemy’s morale was relatively unaffected by Saddam’s capture, General Odierno notified Colonel Rounds that he had rescheduled Operation Ivy BlIzzard for 17 December. At 0100 elements of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry; the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry; and the 1st Battalion, 23d Infantry, would begin clearing operations within Samarra while the 2d Battalion, 3d Infantry, secured the town of Balad. The 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery, reinforced by the brigade’s antitank unit, Company C, 52d Infantry, would patrol the roads north and south of Samarra. For the next several days, the three units conducted raids on enemy targets, collecting many detainees and finding numerous arms and Kiowa Warrior flying over a U.S. military unit in Iraq 25
Page 1: From TransFormaTion To CombaT The F
Page 4 and 5: CMH Pub 70-106-1 Cover: Soldiers of
Page 6 and 7: Acknowledgments Many individuals no
Page 8 and 9: Illustrations Stryker with Mobile G
Page 10 and 11: progress among command posts, logis
Page 12 and 13: Stryker Brigade Combat Team SBCT Br
Page 14 and 15: and the number of maintenance perso
Page 16 and 17: General Shinseki speaks to soldiers
Page 18 and 19: need for spare parts to a minimum w
Page 20 and 21: Soldiers with the 5th Battalion, 20
Page 22 and 23: than any vehicle they had previousl
Page 24 and 25: igade to a California port where it
Page 26 and 27: the brigade’s staging area in nor
Page 28 and 29: transports that carried Abrams tank
Page 30 and 31: Two days before Ivy BlIzzard began,
Page 34 and 35: equipment caches. On the evening of
Page 36 and 37: 0 0 S Y R I A Sinjā r Tall Kū jik
Page 38 and 39: General Ham (left) and a senior Ira
Page 40 and 41: four insurgents firing from a nearb
Page 42 and 43: S.Sgt. Francisco J. Pinedo and his
Page 44 and 45: Tikrī t S A L A H A D D I N Sā ma
Page 46 and 47: Just as Pittard’s brigade began i
Page 48 and 49: A Stryker platoon takes up local se
Page 50 and 51: approached the town, Captain Hensle
Page 52 and 53: additional combat power for any ass
Page 54 and 55: loaded trucks north while the other
Page 56 and 57: Tall Afar, Iraq The Stryker Brigade
Page 58 and 59: ight front; then the entire interse
Page 60 and 61: Operating 1,500 yards from the scou
Page 62 and 63: 500 500 � Tall 'Afar B SCT 0 0 I
Page 64 and 65: Kiowa Warrior shortly after recover
Page 66 and 67: September 2004, the 5th Battalion,
Page 68 and 69: On the northeast side of Tall Afar,
Page 70 and 71: from Company A, 2d Battalion, 3d In
Page 72 and 73: Soldiers pull local security during
Page 74 and 75: At the conclusion of their deployme
Page 76 and 77: joint-force lines so that it functi
Page 78 and 79: Compared with the battle that occur
Page 81: Bibliographical Note Primary Source

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