Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | F | FA Journal

A fires battalion in OIF III: supporting decentralized "hot" platoons and other missions.

Article Excerpt
The 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT), Raiders, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), deployed from Fort Stewart, Georgia, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) III from January 2005 to January 2006. The Raider Brigade--the first unit to reach Baghdad during OIF I--again led the Army as the first to reorganize as a modular heavy BCT (HBCT) and deploy to Iraq for a second tour. 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery (1-41 FA), Glory's Guns, deployed as the 1st BCT's organic fires battalion.

During OIF III, Task Force (TF) 1-41 FA fired 5,860 rounds in support of operations throughout the 1st BCT's battlespace, which was the size of Maryland. TF 1-41 FA's Hot platoons located throughout the brigade's large area of operations (AO) fired autonomously in support of their maneuver TFs. 1-41 FA's direct support (DS) mission for the TFs was in addition to several other missions. This article discusses lessons learned during TF 1-41 FA's 12-month tour in Iraq, highlighting Hot platoons in decentralized operations.

1st BCT replaced the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division (2/1ID), in Salad ad Din Province in the volatile Sunni Triangle north of Baghdad. The Raider Brigade was attached to the 42nd Infantry Division from the New York National Guard for the first 10 months then to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) for its final two months in Iraq.

The transfer of authority (TOA) and relief in place (RIP) with 2/1 ID was directed by III Corps to be "one for one" down to the platoon level. 1st BCT executed this directive as closely as possible, given that the BCT was replacing a legacy brigade. When the dust settled, 1st BCT controlled seven maneuver battalions and its organic fires battalion plus brigade support and brigade troop battalions.

The BCT partnered with many Iraqi Army, police and special police units and had facilities and infrastructure under its operational control (OPCON). Command and control over such a large and diverse organization in such a large AO was an immense task for the 1st BCT, but it proved up to the challenge.

TF 1-41 FA's Mission and Pre-Deployment Preparations. 1-41 FA had three key tasks to execute in Salad ad Din Province: prosecute the countermortar/rocket campaign across the brigade AO, including augmenting the brigade tactical command post (TAC) at Logistics Support Area (LSA) Anaconda to synchronize joint targeting and counterstrike efforts; command and control Forward Operating Base (FOB) Remagen; and execute the brigade's Provincial Police Partnership Program. Although I do not discuss the last key mission in this article, it involved partnering with and advising the Salad ad Din Provincial Chief of Police, his police headquarters (HQ) and his 10,000-man police force.

TF 1-41 FA also helped and advised the Salad ad Din Provincial Joint Coordination Center (PJCC) in Tikrit that planned and executed the historic constitutional and parliamentary elections. In addition, the battalion provided Soldiers for the 1st BCT's military transition team (MiTT) that worked with the 1st Brigade of the 4th Iraqi Army Division, also in Tikrit.

Before deploying, the battalion established communications from Fort Stewart, Georgia, with the 2/1 ID in Iraq. However, communications were difficult because most information of value was classified, and 1st BCT had only one secure mternet protocol net (SIPRNET) computer in the entire brigade.

Three pre-deployment site surveys (PDSS) were critical for the battalion to understand the mission, environment, terrain and peculiarities of the fluid AO. The surveys, also known as leaders' reconnaissance, helped the battalion adjust home-station training.

Task Organization and Command Relationships. 2/1 ID fielded four...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!