First published in Great Britain in 2008 by
Osprey Publishing,
Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK
443 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016, USA
Email: info@ospreypublishing.com
© 2008 Osprey Publishing Ltd.
All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers.
Print ISBN: 978 1 84603 357 5
PDF ebook ISBN: 978 1 84603 813 6
EPUB ebook ISBN: 978 1 84908 826 8
Editor: Martin Windrow
Page layout by Ken Vail Graphic Design, Cambridge, UK
Typeset in Helvetica Neue and ITC New Baskerville
Index by Sandra Shotter
Originated by PPS Grasmere, Leeds, UK
Printed in China through World Print Ltd.
08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library
FOR A CATALOGUE OF ALL BOOKS PUBLISHED BY OSPREY MILITARY AND AVIATION PLEASE CONTACT:
NORTH AMERICA:
Osprey Direct
c/o Random House Distribution Center, 400 Hahn Road, Westminster, MD
21157
E-mail: info@ospreydirectusa.com
ALL OTHER REGIONS:
Osprey Direct UK,
PO Box 140, Wellingborough, Northants NN8 2FA, UK
E-mail: info@ospreydirect.co.uk
Buy online at www.ospreypublishing.com
Many thanks to Calum, George, Brian, Rory, Jim, Fritz, and the ‘anonymous by necessity’ folks who assisted me- thank you all so much. I’d also like to thank Mathew R, Keith W, Rolf H and Kathy and Eddie S for their continued support.
This work is dedicated to my late grandfather, WO2 Edward Farrelly, and to the men and women who have served and continue to serve in OIF. All gave some, some gave all.
Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which the colour plates in this book were prepared are available for private sale. All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the Publishers. All enquiries should be addressed to:
Scorpio Gallery
PO Box 475
Hailsham
East Sussex
BN27 2SL
The Publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter.
Please note that all faces and identifying characteristics of special operators have been digitally obscured in all images for security reasons. Additionally, locations referenced have been kept deliberately vague as have some specific operational details which may impact on Coalition tactics, techniques and procedures. Some current unit and task force names and designations, locations and roles have also been omitted or altered for reasons of operational security.
Special Operations Forces In Iraq
Introduction
First Shots
Task Force 7 & Task Force 64
Umm Qasr
Task Force 20
Saving Private Lynch
Hunting Wmd
Hunting Hvt
Colour Plates
Weapons & Equipment
Appendix: Private Security Contractors
Select Bibliography
Plate Commentaries
Index
‘A lot of guys obviously hate the place. But in the early mornings when the sun came up, the temperature got just right and the sky looked lovely. I can’t tell you about the people. My only interaction with them is in their house at 2am, usually scared shitless.’
US SOF operator, Iraq
Planning for what was eventually to become Operation ‘Iraqi Freedom’ (OIF) began in December of 2001, even as Coalition Forces continued to battle Taliban and al Qaeda elements in Afghanistan under Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’ (OEF). Drawing on a pre-existing battle plan, the harried leader of US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Tommy Franks, began to develop options for an invasion of Iraq under the orders of then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
A US Air Force Special Tactics airman attached to an SOF patrol; close liaison with air asserts, and precise control of air support, is essential during special operations. He wears a Com-Tac headset attached to his MBITR; his M4A1 carbine, mounting an Aimpoint sight and PEQ-2 target illuminator, has a hand-painted camouflage finish in sand and brown. (Courtesy USAFSOC)
The plan soon evolved into a concept of operations that required far fewer resources than the original, and one that called for a concurrent start for both the air and ground components, in contrast with the protracted preliminary bombing campaign for Operation ‘Desert Storm’ (ODS) in 1991. Special operations forces (SOF) were an integral part of the plan, and their role would increase in light of the early successes of SOF in Afghanistan.
CENTCOM’s Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) joined the planning process formally in March 2002 as conventional forces took over command and control of SOF in Afghanistan. Brigadier-General Gary ‘Shooter’ Harrell, a leader with an impressive SOF service history, took over command of SOCCENT in June 2002. Harrell had most recently commanded Task Force Bowie in OEF, and had previously served with 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), after earlier stints with the 10th and 7th Special Forces Groups (SFG).
Harrell and Franks developed a concept of operations that would see Coalition SOF deployed in three major areas. In the western deserts of Iraq, SOF would hunt down mobile Scud TEL launchers, while providing special reconnaissance (SR) and screening tasks in support of conventional forces. In the north, SOF would work with the local Kurdish Peshmerga guerillas to draw Iraqi forces away from reinforcing Baghdad, while capturing strategic sites to allow conventional follow-on forces to deploy (a task which grew in importance with Turkey’s refusal to allow conventional forces to deploy from her soil).
In the south, SOF would seize the national oil production facilities, provide SR, and capture key facilities and transport nodes. A fourth covert SOF unit would carry out the hunt for weapons of mass destruction, and high-value leadership targets within the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Once the plan was signed by President George W. Bush, D-Day for Operation ‘Iraqi Freedom’ was set for 20 March 2003. An air campaign known as ‘Shock and Awe’ would kick off proceedings, while SOF teams quietly infiltrated into Iraq ahead of conventional forces. In reality, the first conventional operation of the war would occur during the early morning of 19 March, when intelligence indicated that Saddam Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay were holding a meeting at a location known as Dora Farms outside Baghdad. Four 2,000lb laser-guided bombs struck the Dora Farms complex, dropped from a pair of F-117A Night Hawks, followed immediately by a salvo of Tomahawk TLAM cruise missiles fired from ships in the Gulf. Disappointingly, the targets of this ‘decapitation strike’ were not present.
OIF officially began in the early hours of March 20, after the deadline for Saddam and his sons to leave the country expired. As ‘Shock and Awe’ got underway, conventional forces crossed the Kuwaiti border: the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) took the lead for V Corps, across the western desert heading north for Najaf, Karbala and finally Baghdad; the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (1MEF) headed up the rough centre of southern Iraq toward Nasiriyah and al Kut; and the British 1st Armoured Division headed up the east of the country bound for Basra. The planned attack from the north by the 4th Infantry Division (4ID) was stymied by Turkey, and it thus fell to SOF alone to carry out the northern attack.
Resurrecting the ‘Task Force Dagger’ moniker from their operations in Afghanistan, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-West (CJSOTF-West) was again led by Col John Mulholland and built around his 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). The 5th SFG Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) teams were tasked with two core missions: the first was to counter the SCUD theatre ballistic missile threat by both locating and destroying the SCUD TEL launchers and denying the Iraqi military the use of potential launch sites; the second was to provide both an intelligence-gathering and a screening function in support of the conventional forces, to build up an accurate picture of Iraqi force dispositions in the west of the country.
The ODAs of 5th SFG were deployed under the command and control (C2) of Operational Detachment Bravo (ODB) teams; the latter operated as Advanced Operating Bases (AOBs), which also provided a mobile resupply function with their modified ‘War Pig’ Light Medium Transport Vehicles. The concept was first developed by 5th SFG in the mid-1990s, based on the use of Unimog forward resupply ‘motherships’ to resupply their mobility patrols by UK Special Forces during Operation ‘Desert Storm’. The 5th SFG were assigned responsibility for two sectors of western Iraq – the western and southern Joint Special Operations Areas (JSOAs). One element, termed Forward Operating Base (FOB) 51 and commanded by AOB 520 and AOB 530, was composed of the ODAs of 1st Battalion staged out of H-5 airfield in Jordan, and was responsible for the western zone. The group’s 2nd and 3rd Bns deployed from Ali al Salim Air Base in Kuwait as FOB 52 and 53 respectively, dedicated to the southern JSOA. Assigned to all teams were Special Tactics airmen from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron (STS), trained to guide in close air support and manage the airspace above the ODA teams.
All Coalition SOF are trained and equipped for night fighting. The white light and faint line visible above the muzzle of the weapon in this photo taken during a US Army Special Forces night-time raid is the infrared laser from the PEQ-2 target illuminator. (Courtesy US Navy, photo Mass Comm Spec 2nd Class Brett Cole)
A company element from the 19th SFG was attached to Dagger, as were several regular Army and National Guard infantry companies to provide FOB security and act as a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) – a role previously provided in Afghanistan by the Rangers, but these were otherwise tasked in OIF. As the prospect of war grew, the ODAs of A Co, 1st Bn, 19th SFG were tasked with liaison roles supporting conventional forces: ODA 911 and 913 were to support 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (1MEF); 914 was divided into two sub-teams, one being assigned to 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) alongside ODA 916, and the other to UK 1st Armoured Division; while ODA 915 was attached to 101st Airborne Division (101ABN) following 3ID across the western desert. A final 19th Group ODA, 912, was tasked with providing the Personal Security Detail (PSD) for Gen Harrell, commander of the Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command (CFSOCC).
In addition to US SOF, Task Force Dagger included the largest component of Coalition SOF of any of the four special operations task forces deployed to OIF. The United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) contributed two squadrons from 22 Special Air Service Regiment (22SAS) – B and D Sqns – and C Sqn from the Special Boat Service (SBS), along with UKSF support personnel; collectively these were designated as Task Force 7 by US planners. The Australian Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) contributed 1 Sqn from the Special Air Service Regt (SASR), and a company from 4th Bn (Commando), Royal Australian Regt (4RAR) to support the SASR patrols. The Australians also resurrected their codename from Afghanistan, and were termed Task Force 64. The British and Australian Special Forces were assigned the northern and central JSOAs respectively, with a similar mission to the 5th SFG; they also deployed from H-5 in Jordan. The Australians readily agreed to be under US command, but the UKSF required some convincing before they relinquished operational control. An additional issue arose around IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) measures, but the UK eventually leased Blue Force Tracker units from the US; the Australians repeated their practice when working with US SOF in Afghanistan, and had USAF Special Tactics Combat Controllers with this indispensable equipment integrally embedded in each patrol.
The aviators of 3rd Bn, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regt (3/160 SOAR) deployed alongside TF Dagger, as the Joint Special Operations Air Detachment-West (JSOAD-West), with eight MH-47D heavy lift Chinooks, four MH-60L Direct Action Penetrators (DAP) and two MH-60K Black Hawk helicopters. In addition, a flight of Air National Guard (ANG) A-10 Warthogs and a flight of USAF F-16Cs were deployed to H-5 to serve as dedicated SOF close air support (CAS). Task Force 7 also had their own dedicated CAS at H-5 from two flights of RAF GR7 Harriers that had trained with the UKSF elements, and heavy lift in the form of CH-47 Chinooks from 7 Sqn and C-130s from the RAF Special Forces Flight from 47 Squadron.
US Army Special Forces en route to a target aboard a Black Hawk helicopter. (Courtesy US Navy; photo Mass Comm Spec 2nd Class Christopher Perez)
Responsibility for special operations in the north was assigned to Combined Special Operations Task Force-North (CJSOTF-North), known as Task Force Viking. Its core component, the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), was the obvious choice, having extensive experience between 1991 and 1996 in Kurdistan during Operation ‘Provide Comfort’, a United Nations-led operation to save the Kurds living in northern Iraq from persecution by Saddam. Working alongside the 10th SFG would be the men of 3rd Bn, 3rd SFG who had recently returned from Afghanistan; 20th SFG (NG) and 2nd Bn 7th SFG had assumed the role of CJSOTF-Afghanistan in September 2002, freeing up 3/3rd SFG to contribute to Viking. The 123rd Special Tactics Sqn, an ANG Air Force Special Operations Command unit, were slated to support the Viking ODAs on the ground. Conventional infantry units attached to Viking were the 173rd Airborne Brigade and several companies from 2nd Bn, 14th Infantry Regt of 10th Mountain Division.