Armor Magazine Counterinsurgency Selected Works - US Army

Task Force Iron Dukes Campaign for Najaf
by Lieutenant Colonel Pat White
(Reprinted from November-December 2004)
On 22 April 2004, Task Force (TF) 2d Battalion, 37th Armor,
1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, the ‘Iron Dukes,’ assumed
mission from 3d Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, in the holy city
of An Najaf, Iraq. The enemy, known as Muqtada’s militia, controlled
An Najaf and neighboring Al Kufa. The mission statement
appeared simple: destroy the militia and restore order to
An Najaf/Kufa to allow transition of authority to a legitimate
Iraqi government; and, on order, transfer security responsibilities
to Iraqi security forces (ISF).
When the fighting stopped and the smoke cleared on 4 June
2004, TF Iron Dukes had battled nonstop for five weeks and broken
the enemy’s will to fight, destroying over 600 militia and
wounding countless others, capturing or destroying all types and
calibers of weapons, successfully detaining two top aides to
Muqtada al-Sadr, and seizing weapons caches in the holy cemetery
and Sahla Mosque.
For the Iron Dukes, the road to An Najaf began on 28 May
2003. The Iron Dukes were cross attached to the ‘Dragoons,’
2d Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR). The Dukes accepted attachment
of one light cavalry troop and one detached tank company.
For the next 10 months, the Dukes would perform combat
missions, peacekeeping missions, and recruit and train 500
Iraqi police and an Iraqi civil defense corps battalion in southern
Baghdad.
A/1/2 ACR (L)
“APACHE”
A
TNS
1-2
MTR 2-37
A/2-37 AR
“AGGRESSOR”
A/1-2 A/2-37
C/2-37
A/1-2
A/2-37
A/1-2
M1A1 - 4
M1025/26 -17
M1114 - 4
MTR 3/2
1
MI
2/A/205
TNS A/2-37
TF CONTROL
5B
SCT
C/2-37 AR
“CRUSADER”
Between 4 April and 10 April 2004, the Dukes fought in Sadr
City, Baghdad, under tactical control of 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry,
followed by fights in Al Kut on 10 April and Ad-Diwaniyah on
17 April. These actions suc cess fully prepared the Iron Dukes
for one of the most intense urban battles since the Iraq ground
war in 2003.
The fighting in Na jaf began on 28 April 2004. Available combat
po ten tial for the fight included: two M1A1 Abrams integrated
management (AIMS) organic tank companies, comprised of
companies Aggressor and Crusader; two light cavalry troops,
made up of Apache Troop, 1st Squadron, and Iron Troop, 3d
Squadron; one Paladin battery with fire-finder radar, Assassin,
2d Battalion, 3d Field Artillery; one military police (MP) company
(minus), Warbear, 2175th Battalion, Missouri National
Guard; one MP platoon, Renegade, 66th MP Company, Fort
Lewis, Washington; one light combat engineer company (CEC),
84th CEC, 2d ACR; one psychological op erations team; two
civil affairs teams; an electronic warfare pla toon; and an organic
headquarters and headquarters company.
The task force organized forces into four maneuver teams, as
shown in Figure 1. These forces were arrayed across the battlespace
in three forward operating bases (FOBs), separated by approx
imately 40 kilometers. Head quar ters and headquarters company
(minus) op er ated from FOB Duke, a dusty patch of ground
HHC/2-37 AR
“HEADHUNTER”
A 2-37 C 2-37
I 3-2
MP 2175th FTCP 2-37
MI
TST 2 CA
THT
1493 TPT
2-37 AR
A/1-2
M1A1 - 6
M1025/26 - 13
M1114 - 4
B/425
Task Force Iron Dukes
84
SEN
D 51
MP
C/2-37
TNS C/2-37
1
A/1-2
I/3-2
M1A1 - 10
M1025/26 - 11
M1114 - 3
66 th
A/2-3
I/3/2 ACR (L)
“IRON”
TNS
I/3-2
I/3-2
I/3-2
I/3-2
A/2-37
C/2-37
I/3-2
M1A1 - 8
M1025/26 - 26
M1114 - 0
2175th MP
“WARBEAR”
MP
MP
2175th
TNS MP 2175th
M1A1 - 0
M1025/26 - 2
M1114 - 17
M1A1
A CO: 6
C CO: 10
A TRP: 4
I TRP: 8
HQ: 2
Total: 30
2175th
BAS
M1025/26
A CO: 13
C CO: 11
A TRP: 17
I TRP: 26
MP: 2
Total: 69
UMCP 2-37
2-37
SPT 2-37
M1A1 - 2
M1114 - 5
M1114
A CO: 4
C CO: 4
A TRP: 2
I TRP: 0
MP: 17
Total: 27
Figure 1
18 — September-October 2008