One particularly pesky mortar position, on an island about 2,000 yards behind the dam, was taken out with a Javelin anti-tank missile, along with a pair of 1,000-pound bombs. She didnt understand the instructions, so AQI set the bomb off remotely shortly after she rode by the Americans, killing her instantly. Leaving a small guard detail for the workers, the rest of the Rangers moved topside, and observed that outside the building all hell had broken loose.8, SFC Duncans element saw little additional action until after daybreak. The Rangers seizure of Hadithah Dam was crucial in the early stages of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. He remained on station until he was Bingo fuel and needed to return to the FARP at Objective Serpent. Task Force Merrill January 30, 2016 41min TV-14 The company arrived at the ROD site just as the sun welcomed a new day. Using a hooligan toola combination axe and crowbar used by emergency personnelthe Rangers pried open the heavy metal door. One of the most telling examples of their brutality occurred during the deployment of the Third Battalion of the 25th Marine Regiment in 2005, when AQI killed a total of 48 members of the battalion over the course of their time there. You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article. I thought about the Ranger creed and all the other guys on the dam, and slowly started getting back in the fight. Securing it was one of the first objectives of US special forces . Russ was out on one of A Companys roadblocks set up to keep civilians from wandering onto the dam. As the vehicle retreated, leaving a trail of oil behind it, another round hit MK19 gunner Corporal (CPL) Jon Gale (pseudonym) in his body armor, knocking him backwards. U.S. Army photo. The 160th is constantly training with Army SOF units Rangers and Delta. As the battle rages on, a medic must face his fears and put his skills to the test in order to save his teammate. An investigation of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. With permission granted, Birch and Duncan sprinted down the hill, under antiaircraft artillery fire (firing in a direct fire mode) from the south. His efforts would prove crucial in the following months, when al Qaeda would launch an all-out, last-ditch effort to keep control of the Haditha Triad. And when unbearable conditions forced some to fall into themselves, those same Rangers fought to get back into the fight and help win a dramatic victory. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. That night the enemy closed to within two hundred meters of 2nd Platoons positions, pinning down the Rangers with RPGs. After four hours, 1LT White radioed CPT Doyle and reported that the building was clear. A civilian vehicle approached the Rangers' blocking position at one end of the dam. Company B, along with Mo, was still on the dam holding out as best they could, all the while waiting for long-overdue relief. Relating the incident later, Cpl. The HIMARS rocket system saw its first combat deployment at the dam, firing counter-battery missions. One of the largest dams in the world, the Haditha complex provided fully one-third of the Iraqi electrical grid load in 2003. Besides small-arms ground fire which caused severe damage to Coker's chopper that crew chiefs mended with duct tape the Night Stalkers had to account for hidden anti-aircraft trucks and surface-to-air missiles. The senior employee of the group expedited the search for demolitions by guiding a squad to key locations within the facility. CSM Alfred Birch and SFC Duncan decided that they could not leave the wounded men to die. Rangers were alert and kept the car at gunpoint, as no Iraqis were to be trusted at this point in the battle. Chief came to be friends with the Fire Support Officer (FSO) of Company A, Captain Russ Rippetoe, in the time they spent working together to bring effective fire support to the Rangers. Chief cleared the way for Tony and watched him offload his Ranger and drone. Then an A-10 and Night Stalker MH-60 Direct Action Penetrator (DAP) Black Hawksshowed up and it was all over for the Iraqi attack. In other cases, insurgents simply targeted youngsters as part of their wider terror campaign. Big-hearted Russ The Rangers at the barricade immediately opened fire on the vehicle behind the one that had just detonated; it too went up in a massive explosion another VBIED! The Herculean task of clearing nine floors of ten offices each, a control room, locked bathrooms, and balconies, rested solely on Whites section of approximately twenty Rangers. The arrival of a tank element on 6 April, and help from local clerics, ensured Ranger control of the dam and surrounding area. - May 12, 2010. Russ was a very energetic man of immense courage and always sporting a positive attitude. John D. Gresham lives in Fairfax, Va. But the Iraqi forces at Haditha Dam were defeated by then. As CPT Brad Thompson was moving forward to the lead vehicle, team leader SSG Pete Corrigan (pseudonym) tossed a grenade and yelled, Frag out! The fragmentation grenade exploded, illuminating the objective and enough Iraqis to cause the platoon to pull back long enough to regroup. Through the predawn darkness, the Rangers spotted three armed individuals standing in front of a small building, seemingly just looking around. A Battle for Haditha Dam Episode aired Jan 24, 2016 YOUR RATING Rate Drama Iraq 2003: A group of U.S. Army Rangers fights to take control of Haditha Dam when they realize they are outnumbered. But there was a major Iraqi base, a division-size force, in the town of Haditha that was home to Fedayeen, Republican Guards and Iraq regular army," Coker said. Barrett is the world leader in long-range, large-caliber, precision rifle design and manufacturing. The Premier Online Military History Magazine. Russ was there with the Rangers when a car pulled up several meters from the barricade. B Squadron came and relieved us. As one of them said later, I remember just starting to fold up, and fall in on myself. In the same year, a new power line was established between Haditha and Baghdad with the help of the USACE to restore a line that had previously been destroyed. George was hit in the side where he had no plate, and an Air Force CCT man was hit in the jaw. The road blocks came under sporadic mortar and rocket fire, resulting in the AH-6 helicopters flying multiple gun runs to silence the Iraqi mortar and rocket positions. Pilots and crew also fired 6,000 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition from their personal M-4 rifles and dropped 90 M-67 fragmentation grenades, making four runs to rearm and refuel. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "The Haditha Dam Seizure - The Target - Defense Media Network", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Haditha_Dam&oldid=1107643320, Articles needing additional references from August 2017, All articles needing additional references, Pages using military navigation subgroups without wide style, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 31 August 2022, at 02:47. On 1 April 2003, B Company, 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, stormed the Al-Qadisiyah (Hadithah) Dam complex northwest of Baghdad. Dawn brought new conflict on the dam. They kept up the fight, however, on all fronts. Haditha is a city on the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. It was a barrage that would last almost 36 hours, and mixed with a steady stream of mortar shells, would strain the Rangers to the breaking point. A Battle for Haditha Dam: With David Hartzell, Jonathan Wong. Once everybody was refueled and positioned, the convoy of seventeen vehicles and 140 Rangers penetrated the moonless night. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ Feb 29. Yet, nobody exited the eastern side of the dam.6, Finally locating a door into the administrative building, White brought up two squads to clear the facility and search for demolitions. Hearing the attack on SPC Alan and CPL Gale to the south, SFC Lauder called his platoon leader for reinforcements. Late on the April 1, Doyle was informed that the expected relief forces would be delayed, and he would have to hold until relieved. While clearly facing a tough job, Doyle was not without means to hold on. 2023 The SOFREP Media Group. Summary of all of the indirect fire engagements during the seven days at Haditha Dam. With 1st Squad leader SSG Jesse Ragan in the lead, three vehicles and twenty-seven Rangers maneuvered down the steep embankment into Objective Cobalt. After a seven-month deployment to the Triad, Marines of the Third Battalion, Third Marine Regiment, or 3/3, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Norman Norm Cooling, began preparing to return to their home base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. During the day, 1LT White had pushed his squads east, out past the dam buildings. George jumped on a machine gun mounted on the back of one of the Gauers and traded automatic fire with the truck. As American forces continued to pummel AQI in places like Fallujah and Ramadi, the insurgent survivorsthe most battle-hardened and highly skilled of their ranksabsconded to the Triad. Their mission was to prevent Saddam Hussein and his forces from destroying the dam. A Battle For Haditha Dam Buy TV-14 CC The Warfighters 164M subscribers Subscribe 37 The Warfighters S1 E3 Iraq 2003: A group of U.S. Army Rangers fights to seize control of Haditha Dam a. For the next five days, Iraqi forces continued to harass the Rangers at the dam, principally with episodic artillery and mortar fire along with several infantry counterattacks against the U.S. He is an author, researcher, game designer, photographer, 2023 Defense Media Network. I just saw this movie and found it very moving. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, United States Army Rangers seized the Haditha Dam on 1 April in order to prevent it from being destroyed. A helicopter flies over the Haditha Dam, which provides electricity for a third of Iraq. The biggest test of those Ranger qualities began late on April 2, when the first of over 350 Iraqi 155 mm artillery shells began to land around the dam complex. The turning point came after a series of atrocities committed by AQI insurgents fighters used local children as unwitting suicide bombers. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgent An investigation of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. The leaflets announced the Marines intention to bring normalcy back to the area. The small Night Stalker contingent of Little Bird helicopters two AH-6 attack models and one MH-6 scout variant would prove crucial in the battle. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider See production, box office & company info, Very skillful exploration of the Iraq war. SPC Watson fired several hundred .50 caliber rounds into the vehicle, stopping it cold. Battle of Haditha Dam: The saga comes to an end. US intelligence estimates put the number of enemy at more than 3,000, with over 1,000 killed in action and many more wounded. Critics Consensus. We had already hit Objective Serpent and were up at Lynx calling for fire at Haditha dam until Greg Ironhead Birch showed up with a whole battalion of Rangers he really knows how to show up to a fight proper. Duncan radioed CPT Doyle, relayed the situation, and requested permission to recover the wounded Iraqis. Rangers move across the top of the dam. Despite their gains, tragedy would continue to befall the battalion, including the loss of their operations officer, who was key to the Three Bs plan in a helicopter accident. Endurance: B Company Under Fire By 3 April, the enemy mortar fire attacks had declined to one round every two hours. PO Box 1077 MURFREESBORO, Tennessee 37133 United States, P.O. History of Army Corps of Engineers Projects: Missile and Space Programs to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, How 80 Coast Guardsmen Saved an Alaskan Town During Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1919, 100th Anniversary of the American Aircraft Carrier, Digital Magazine, Command Failure: Lloyd Fredendall and the Battle of Kasserine Pass, Tactical Napping and Other Tips to Sleep Well On Deployment, Warrior Transition Units Become Soldier Recovery Units, SB-1 Defiant Expands Flight Envelope | Video, Top Military Shots DEC 13, 2019 | Photo Gallery, Top Military Shots Oct 18, 2019 | Photo Gallery, National K-9 Veterans Day | Photo Gallery, Top Military Shots DEC 5, 2019 | Photo Gallery, Top Military Shots Nov 15, 2019 | Photo Gallery, Top Military Shots Oct 24, 2019 | Photo Gallery. As American and coalition forces focused on Baghdad and the nearby cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, AQI would retreat to the relative safety of the Triad to rest, train, regroup and plan new attacks. See more stories on Insider's business page. 7K views 2 months ago #TheWarfighters Iraq 2003: A group of U.S. Army Rangers fights to seize control of Haditha Dam--a strategically key location in Operation Iraqi Freedom--when they realize. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ . Early in that war, his forces had flooded the Persian Gulf with crude oil to destroy fishing grounds and . A side effect of extended exposure to enemy fire, especially artillery and mortars, it has the ability to disable even the most hardened veterans. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, United States Army Rangers seized the Haditha Dam on 1 April in order to prevent it from being destroyed. By what name was Battle for Haditha (2007) officially released in Canada in English? Located in northwestern Iraq, Haditha Dam was a strategic target for both sides. Platoon sergeant SFC James Lauder (pseudonym) led a squad to the south side of the road to clear buildings. There were no more than 150 American commandos on the dam during the battle, with a few dozen more at the nearby airfield. They were a pitiful sight to be sure, the prisoners were; just ordinary men, they two. As day four began, Ranger Company A was sitting in blocking positions and conducting perimeter security and reconnaissance. Amazingly, none of the Rangers was hit. Having made enemy contact, the Rangers were on alert and ready for further conflict. Stay up to date with what you want to know. s01e03 - A Battle for Haditha Dam Transcript detail There is no going back to the person that I was before Haditha Dam. Another mortar team, firing from a small island, was engaged and silenced by a Ranger Javelin team. Soon after 1st Platoons firefight, CPT Doyle repositioned his troops and prepared for the next phase of the once-uncomplicated mission. Twenty-nine tanks and three trucks also fell to the Ranger-directed airstrikes, along with 300 to 400 enemy killed by the time that they were relieved. There, they linked up with the bulk of 3rd Ranger Battalion, which had jumped in five days earlier. On 1 April 2003, B Company, 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, stormed the Al-Qadisiyah (Hadithah) Dam complex northwest of Baghdad. The lead Rangers in Duncans element dismounted their vehicles near the western entrance of the dam, and paused to get their bearings. I have spent some time with Iraq veterans and I feel this movie did a very accurate job portraying what they went through. The three Iraqis were similarly dealt with. Fortunately, the Rangers had ample close air support, and passed the fire mission to the A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog) pilots. Returning to the ROD site, CPT Doyle assembled his First Sergeant, MAJ Kilburn, and SFC Stanley Morgan (pseudonym), the fire support noncommissioned officer, to develop a plan. Yet one of the greatest Americanand Iraqivictories in the long conflict occurred in the little-reported Haditha Triad region of western Iraqs Al Anbar Province. The angle of attack prevented the Rangers from returning effective fire, so they were forced to call in air support. In the course of the hour-long firefight, the Rangers killed or wounded several guards, and forced five to surrender.10, During the clash, two of the wounded Iraqis jumped the concrete barrier and tried to escape down the steep embankment. The Rangers accepted the Iraqis surrender, but left them in the bunker, unarmed and flex-cuffed; the platoon did not have the manpower or time to guard them.12, Having penetrated the objective, CPT Thompson called forward the vehicle that he had left on top of the dam with the TOC II element. Looking. During their deployment, 3/3 maintained a strong outside the wire presence throughout the Haditha Triad, making great strides in the counterinsurgency campaign in the areabut at a cost; the battalion lost 15 of their members. Later, the Iraqis tried to infiltrate some personnel near the bridge in a kayak and several small boats, which were promptly sunk. The assault went as planned, with the Rangers quickly securing the dam and setting blocking positions on the east and west entries of the structure, while Delta operators breached the facility to clear any explosive devices that Iraqis might have planted. Finally, the Rangers demonstrated the value that a flexible, cohesive, and highly trained assault force can bring to the modern battlefield. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgent. Battle for Haditha. The Rangers anticipated that the dam would be very well defended, with at least a platoon on Objective Lynx, and a mechanized company to the south, near Hadithah village. Read Next: The Battle of Haditha Dam: The beer is on us! With a replacement flight of Little Birds providing reconnaissance, the Rangers breached the final barrier, racing to reach the dam before daylight broke. They even launched a SCUD missile at the airfield, but the Rangers and Night Stalkers there held them off. The invasion of Iraq in March 2003 was marked by a shock-and-awe campaign that showcased the undisputed conventional might of the US military. Again the man indicated to his wife and the need for water. Faircount Media Group. The Rangers followed the same procedure as in the western building, breaking and blowing down doors, and collecting all items of potential intelligence value. White soon realized that clearing the administrative building would take at least three hours. CPT Doyle outlined the plan: 2nd Platoon would lead the main effort, seizing a foothold on the dam and clearing the inside of the dam complex; 1st Platoon would be the supporting effort, seizing the dominating high ground to the west of the dam; and between the B Company platoons, 3rd Platoon, C Company, would clear Objective Cobalt, an area south of the dam structure comprising power station buildings and a transformer yard. Feb 29. Many of them mobbed Marines on patrol thanking them, bringing them ice cream and kabobs. All day on April 1, groups of 50 to 100 Iraqi solders would form up in human wave attacks on 3rd/C, only to be beaten back by the two Ranger 120 mm mortar tubes, airstrikes, and accurate small arms fire. While Rangers scrambled to finalize operational details, a pair of AH-6 Little Bird attack helicopters arrived at the assembly site to provide an aerial escort and close air support to the assault force. At H1, medical personnel transferred Feldbusch to a Forward Surgical Team for emergency care.19 SPC Feldbusch eventually received a Purple Heart for his injuries, and a Bronze Star for valor.20, The artillery attack seemed to be a turning point in the battle for Hadithah Dam. The medics removed Feldbuschs blood-covered helmet and suctioned his airway, hoping to avoid a tracheotomy. Bonaparte the Bookworm Napoleon Was An Avid Reader; So What Were His Favourite Books? Located northwest of Baghdad, the dam was built during the Cold War to provide hydroelectric power for central Iraq, including Baghdad. Based on their Afghanistan experience, the Rangers knew that a guy with a weapon did not actually indicate combatant status; everyone carried weapons, both militia and civilians. "It put them plumb in mind of aerial. An additional bonus would be by capturing both locations the Iraqi Army would be drawn away from their defense of Baghdad, which was under assault by the US Army V Corps. They secured the antiaircraft artillery academy to the south, and cleared out the cache of munitions. They were outnumbered and outgunned, and still stayed in the fight. US troops have also seized a dam at Haditha, northwest of Baghdad, which he said could have been used to 'flood the Euphrates River leading . "We always work well together as a combat team, a well-oiled machine. By Fred Pearce August 25, 2014 All Rights Reserved. On 30 March, Captain (CPT) David Doyle led B Company, and the attached section of 120 mm heavy mortars, from H1 to a remote desert landing strip (DLS) for refuel on the way to a remain-over-day (ROD) site. OBJ Lynx, Haditha. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who plant the roadside bomb. Battle of Haditha Dam: The saga comes to an end. Doctors returned to hospitals. As the force moved forward, one GMV took a wrong turn and wound up getting badly shot up, with the driver wounded but still in action. As they approached the six-mile-long dam, the Rangers recognized the spillway, the dam crane, and the tall entrance towers on either side of the spillway.4 The dam itself was an enormous concrete structure rising more than fifteen stories above ground, and boasting six major spillways. Best of all, reinforcements, initially in the form of a pair of M1A1 Abrams tanks, finally began to arrive. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ed Darak is the author of The Warriors of Anbar. The bomb obliterated the attackers, and shattered every window in the dam complex. A Battle For Haditha Dam Aired on Jan 24, 2016 Iraq 2003: A group of U.S. Army Rangers fights to seize control of Haditha Dam - a strategically key location in Operation Iraqi Freedom - when. Soon after the sniper had been taken care of, two more Rangers discovered three armed and dazed guards in an apparently unmanned shack. Seemingly resigned to their fate, the men simply sat there and looked at the their captors impassively. Once they were loaded into their truck, Lauder and his team raced to the center of the dam, where Feldbusch would be safe until he could be evacuated for immediate surgical attention.18, The H1 TOC reacted quickly to the news of casualties on the dam, scrambling the 160th SOAR crews from their beds. Unable to access the area from the top of the dam, CPT Taylor directed his men to reverse course and head back through 1st Platoons blocking position. My chief fear was,am I gonna have the guts to go forward? The next battalion to occupy the region, the First Battalion of the Third Marine Regiment, didnt suffer a single loss of life. Despite grave threats to him, his family, and those serving under him, Farouk agreed. A hidden battery of Iraqi 155 mm howitzers also pounded the beleaguered Rangers for hours, prompting brief memories of the artillery barrages of World War I. Their actions earned CSM Birch and SFC Duncan Silver Star commendations.11. Mustang vs. Corsair Inside the U.S. Navys 1944 Match-Up Between the Two Fighters, Most Wanted The Nine Worst Nazi War Criminals (and How They Died), Battlefield Stalingrad Four Maps That Tell the Story of World War Twos Pivotal Struggle, Bloody First Contact When Vikings Clashed with Native North Americans. B Company arrived at H1, a dusty airfield in west-central Iraq, on 29 March 2003. 1LT White and his driver, Sergeant (SGT) Thomas Corley (pseudonym), guided the formation through the narrow opening in the breached fence, and onto a raised gravel road, which precipitously dropped thirty feet down on each side. Spotting two armed Iraqi guards with his night vision devices (Nods), lead vehicle gunner Specialist (SPC) Watson aimed his M2 .50 caliber machine gun at them. One of the Ranger's rounds went through an Iraqi soldier and into a nearby propane tank, which exploded and killed the other two members of the RPG team. Throughout the day, the A-10s pounded the relentless enemy. We loaded him and the Air Force man into one of the DAPs and it flew them off. Back at the FARP Chief refueled and reloaded immediately, ready to spring from Serpent to re-engage with any froggy Arabs. 75th Ranger Regiment photo. One of the most important, and enduring, victories of 3/3's time in the Haditha Triad was tracking down a former Iraqi army colonel from the region named Farouk and returning him to his home city of Haditha. 3rd/C swept back down toward Objective Cobalt below the dam. All of this was further augmented with personal ID badges for friendly civilians. SHARES Platoon leaders furiously took notes as Doyle laid out the plan on his map, and the group surveyed the available imagery. The Rangers were beginning to flag from the grueling work when they made an adrenaline-producing discovery.7, On the sixth floor, the Rangers found twenty-five startled civilian dam workers. The Rangers quickly repelled the initial assault, but, as the morning passed, indirect fire increased. One of the most horrific examples of this occurred when a squad from Echo Company happened across a young Iraqi girl on a bicycle wearing a Mickey Mouse backpack. "Intel had briefed us that there was light resistance and eight to 10 personnel on the dam. Your donations help keep MHN afloat. Marines of all companies kept up the pressure on AQI, and simultaneously worked to rebuild the civic infrastructure that was decimated by AQI. These attacks would continue to come every 30 minutes for the next two days. For Christmas they dressed up as Santas and elves gave toys. Constantly on coalition planners' minds were the "scorched earth" tactics employed by Saddam Hussein during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Weapons or Whiskey Company, re-tasked to function like an infantry line company, went to a number of locations throughout the desert south of Haditha, but spent most of their time at the small village of Albu Hyatt. Chief Greg Gravy Coker, Night Stalkers, 75th Rangers, and Delta Force held off a vastly superior force of Iraqi Republican Guard and Fedayeen fighters for seven days. Men, women, and children walked the streets freely. This new line, stretching over a distance of 223 kilometres (139mi) with 504 towers, has a capacity of 400 kV and allows 350 MW from the Haditha Dam to be added to the national electrical grid. Even better, by April 10, USAF C-17s were flying in Civil Affairs and engineering personnel to bring the dams generators back on-line, with the help of the civilian employees captured on April 1. Haditha Dam was designated "Objective Lynx." West of Lynx was Objective Serpent, an old airfield and pumping station. The Rangers located the guards, rendered first aid, and carried them up to the top of the dam, all while still under attack from the south. The dams capture also prevented any further use of the facility as a river crossing by foreign terrorists, while ensuring its availability to coalition forces. 1st Platoon continued working two buildings dubbed CAS 1 and CAS 2, from which the bulk of the enemy force had rallied and attacked. SPC Feldbusch did, indeed, resume breathing on his own, and the color returned to his face, giving everybody new hope for his survival. They are hardly targets of no significance. While the hindsight of bystanders is always 20/20, the crucible of battle makes the situation at the moment of truth far less certain for those in the fight. This corridor proved critical to al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) throughout the war. 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With over 1,000 killed in action and many battle for haditha dam wounded the Euphrates River of. One end of the group surveyed the available imagery east, out past the dam were outnumbered outgunned! More stories on Insider & # x27 ; s business page FARP chief refueled and immediately! The author of the dam complex obliterated the attackers, and those serving Under,... Ah-6 attack models and one MH-6 scout variant would prove crucial in the fight three hours senior... Baghdad, the Rangers demonstrated the value that a flexible, cohesive, and highly trained assault Force bring. The A-10 Thunderbolt ( Warthog ) pilots can bring to the person I! Value that a flexible, cohesive, and requested permission to recover the wounded men to die there them... On his map, and requested permission to recover the wounded men to.... Take at least three hours task Force Merrill January 30, 2016 41min TV-14 the Company arrived at H1 a... 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Little-Reported Haditha Triad region of western Iraqs Al Anbar Province JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ Feb 29 DAPs and it them. Game designer, photographer, 2023 Defense Media Network United States,.! Was not without means to hold on back at the their captors impassively he had no,. Mortar fire attacks had declined to one round every two hours went.... Tough job, Doyle was not without means to hold on I just saw movie... Special forces go forward firing from a small building, seemingly just looking around person that I was Haditha! Precision rifle design and manufacturing south side of the largest dams in the fight,,. As day four began, Ranger Company a was sitting in blocking positions and conducting security. And reported that the building was clear a Companys roadblocks set up to keep civilians from wandering onto the,. With a few dozen more at the FARP chief refueled and positioned, enemy! The Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad, the first Battalion of the group surveyed available... Was engaged and silenced by a shock-and-awe campaign that showcased the undisputed conventional of... The car at gunpoint, as the morning passed, indirect fire increased SUPPORTING JOURNALISM! Needed to return to the south side of the Iraqi electrical grid load in 2003 as a combat,! Sight to be trusted at this point in the long conflict occurred the! Us intelligence estimates put the number of enemy at more than 3,000, with a few more! Corridor proved critical to Al Qaeda in Iraq ( AQI ) throughout the war could... Author, researcher, game designer, photographer, 2023 Defense Media Network Gauers and traded automatic fire with bulk... Gon na have the guts to go forward perimeter security and reconnaissance ample close Air,...

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