720th
April 2003 Battalion Time Line
~ 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association History Project ~
This Page Last Updated   2 April 2008
89th Bde.
 
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4 April The Battalion elements crossed over the burm from Kuwait into Iraq. The order of march was the 401st MP Company, Headquarters Detachment, the 64th MP Company, and the 411th MP Company. After an 18 hour movement, the Battalion elements rallied in a fortified rock quarry which was named at the time, "Life Support Area (LSA) Bushmaster," located just southwest of An Najaf.
 

        The 855th Military Police Company "Desert Warriors" (Arizona National Guard), subordinate to the 720th Military Police Battalion, established CHA [Corps Holding Area] Gauntlet-I at LSA Bushmaster.
855th
 

        The 401st immediately began conducting combat operations in the form of Main Supply Route (MSR) and Alternate Supply Route (ASR) patrols in support of the 3rd Infantry Division and V Corps as U.S. and coalition forces pushed into Baghdad.
3rd ID
5th Corps
 

5 April, Iraq U.S. forces have seized the airport and enter Baghdad, conducting a large raid. Such incursions would continue for several days. Iraqi civilians begin widespread looting of the city.

7 April, Iraq British forces reach the center of Basra and declare the city is under Coalition control.

14 April The 720th HQ Detachment along with the 64th, 401st, 411th MP Companies moved forward to LSA [Life Support Area] Dogwood, approximately 60 kilometers south of Baghdad, and established CHA [Corps Holding Area] Gauntlet-II. In less than a month, the 720th had processed 836 detainees between the two CHAs.

15 April, Iraq Kurdish fighters have seized the northern city of Kirkuk, U.S. and Kurdish troops have entered Mosul in the north, Tikrit falls and the Coalition declares the war to be effectively over. Despite this declaration, violence continues, escalating into a low-grade guerrilla war.
 
Mid-April The 720th Military Police Battalion (subordinate to the 18th MP Brigade) was sharing battlespace with the 101st Airborne Division. The V Corps rear area now extended from the Kuwait-Iraq border in the south to just outside of Baghdad, with the 720th patrolling more than 1,400 kilometers.
18th Bde.
 

16 April, Iraq U.S. forces capture Abu Abbas, a Palestinian and wanted terrorist living in Baghdad. Abbas is best-known as the leader of a terrorist group that hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985.

21 April, The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) The CPA was established as a transitional government following the invasion of Iraq by the United States and the other members of the multinational coalition which was formed to oust the government of Saddam Hussein. Citing UN Security Council Resolution 1483 (2003), and the laws of war, the CPA vested itself with executive, legislative, and judicial authority over the Iraqi government from the period of the CPA's inception on April 21, 2003, until its dissolution on June 28, 2004. Lieutenant General Jay Garner was appointed as the Director of CPA.

Date Unknown, All Fallujah The city was on the brink of chaos in the last week of April as the 82nd Airborne Division withdrew from the city, anti-American riots erupted in the streets. Several civilians were shot and seven U.S. soldiers were wounded when a grenade was thrown into their compound by hostile forces.  Lt. Gen William Wallace, commanding V Corps, responded by assembling Task Force Gauntlet, placing it under the command of LTC David Porier, commanding officer of the 720th MP Battalion, it was sent to Al Fallujiah to end the violence.
 
30 April Task Force Gauntlet, comprised of the 720 MP Battalion (TAC), 411th MP Company, C Company, 2nd Brigade, 6th Infantry, G, H, & O Troops 2 Battalion, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, was sent to All Fallujah to quell the civil unrest and create a secure and stable environment. The remainder of the 720th MP Battalion, HQ Detachment, 64th, and 401st MP Companies jumped north to Tikrit and were assigned to the 4th Infantry Division.
4th ID