720th |
2003 Battalion Time Line ~ 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association History Project ~ This Page Last Updated 14 January 2014 |
89th Bde. |
CLICK ON INDIVIDUAL RIBBONS FOR CRITERIA |
---|
|
At the start of the year the Battalion was headquartered subordinate to the 89th MP Brigade, III Corps at Fort Hood, TX. |
Causes leading up to Operation Iraqi Freedom - I (Gulf War II) |
There are several basic reasons for the second major war between a United States-led coalition and Iraq. All of them have been the subject of intense emotional and political dissection through the past four years. As time unfolds and more of the Iraqi intelligence services records seized after the war are interpreted and unclassified, history will be the true and final judge. First, there was the lingering tension and hostility left over from the Gulf War of 1991 (Operation Desert Shield/Storm), in which Iraqi occupation troops were forced out of Kuwait. As a result of the war, the Iraqi government agreed to surrender and/or destroy several types of weapons, including their SCUD missiles and various Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD’s). The United Nations were allowed to send weapons inspectors to confirm the destruction of Iraqi weapons and also to search for prohibited weapons believed to be in hiding. Two "No Fly Zones" (Operation Northern/Southern Watch) were established over northern and southern Iraq for the protection of Iraqi minority groups in opposition to the Saddam Hussein government (Operation Provide Comfort). Over these two zones, Allied aircraft patrolled the air in order to prevent Iraqi aircraft from attacking northern Kurds or southern Shiites. Over the years, Iraqi air-defense forces fired missiles and other weapons at the Allied warplanes (mostly American and British planes) in unsuccessful attempts to shoot them down. In response to these attempted shoot-downs, Allied warplanes often responded by bombing the air-defense sites and the radar installations associated with them. In 1998, under Iraqi pressure, the UN weapons inspectors left Iraq, prompting the United States to launch a severe three-day bombing campaign called "Operation Desert Fox." Following this, Iraqi forces significantly increased attempts to challenge the Allied planes patrolling the No-Fly Zones, thereby also causing an increase in the Allied bombing of Iraqi targets. Second, following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Although the US government admitted they had no evidence of any direct Iraqi involvement in the attacks of 11 September 2001, U.S. intelligence agencies identified links between al-Qaida and other Muslim extremist groups who were alleged to be receiving training and support in and from Iraq (these links would later be confirmed by seized Iraqi intelligence unit documents). Using the potential threat of Saddam-supplied Weapons of Mass Destruction in the hands of terrorists, the U.S. government and the United Nations increasingly insisted on total Iraqi disarmament. With initial backing by the UN Security Council, the United States encircled Iraq with growing military forces, leading Iraq to permit UN weapons inspectors back into the country. By early 2003, however, the U.S. and British governments claimed that Iraq was not cooperating fully with the UN inspectors. It was also suspected that France, Russia and Germany were resisting the US efforts to engage further actions by the UN Security Council because of backdoor economic and illegal arms and equipment sales activity that was expressly banned by UN approved sanctions already in place under the Oil for Food Program (the suspicions were later confirmed to be true). Edited from, The History Guy, Gulf War II, Time Line, historyguy.com |
|
During Operation Iraqi Freedom-I, the 720th MP Battalion was assigned to operate in support of Task Force Gauntlet, V Corps and Task Force Iron Horse, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized). Their area of operation was the infamous Sunni Triangle, a hot bed of terrorist and insurgency activity. One primary mission of the Battalion towards the stabilization of Iraq would be training of the Iraqi Police Services. |
January |
January - Iraq The Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) ORHA was established by the United States Government to act as a caretaker administration in Iraq until the creation of a democratically elected civilian government. Retired United States Army Lieutenant General Jay Garner was appointed as the Director of ORHA. Upon the dissolution of ORHA and the creation of the Coalition Provisional Authority, he then became the first chief executive of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). |
March |
17 March - Washington, DC President George W. Bush issued an ultimatum for Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein and his sons to enter into exile within 48 hours or face military conflict. Saddam defiantly refused, thereby setting the stage for the order for war to begin. 19 March - Iraq - Air Campaign Begins U.S. Stealth bombers and Tomahawk Cruise Missiles struck "leadership targets" in and around the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Soon thereafter, air attacks began against Iraqi targets in southern Iraq, followed by missile attacks from Iraq toward U.S. military positions in the Kuwaiti desert. The stated goals of the US lead Coalition were the disarmament of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and his Ba'ath political party. 20 March - Iraq - The Ground War Begins U.S. and British ground forces advanced into southern Iraq, entering the port city of Umm Qasr, near the major Iraqi city of Basra, while a second wave of air attacks hit Baghdad. The Iraqi militia (known as the Saddam Fedayeen), and holdout troops resist Coalition forces. |
The 720th Deploys |
21-25 March - Fort Hood - The 720th Deploys The Battalion minus the 410th MP Company, began deployment movement to Kuwait to await assignment to the Iraqi theatre in support of the 3rd Infantry Division and V Corps attack on Baghdad under Operation COBRA. 23 March - Fort Hood The 401st MP Company deployed to Kuwait to merge with the Battalion. Date Unknown - Kuwait As the 3d Infantry Division crossed the berm into Iraq, personnel from the 720th Military Police Battalion headquarters (Fort Hood, Texas) arrived in Kuwait and prepared to download unit equipment and conduct RSOI [reception, staging, onward--movement, and integration] operations. Date Unknown - Iraq The 2nd platoon of the 410th MP Company was attached to the 220th Military Police Company (Colorado National Guard) and moved from Camp As Salayah, Qatar, forward to Convoy Support Center (CSC) Scania, Iraq, located on Main Supply Route (MSR) Tampa 100 kilometers south of Baghdad, were they conducted Maneuver and Mobility Support Operations (MMSO). Date Unknown - Iraq The 1st Platoon of the 410th MP Company moved to Baghdad, Iraq with the Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) where they performed Personal Security Detail (PSD), access and physical security at Cobra Base. Cobra Base is the former Abu Ghyriab presidential palace in Baghdad. Coalition Forces Land Component Command was replaced by Coalition Joint Task Force 7 around mid-June and began to report directly to the CENTCOM. |
23 March - Iraq Coalition forces seized two major airfields in western Iraq, and controlled parts of Umm Qasr, Basra and Nasiriyah. Armored and mechanized forces advanced to within 100 miles of Baghdad and forced a crossing of the Euphrates River at Nasiriyah, where Iraqi forces put up a stiff fight. In northern Iraq, the U.S. launched an attack with 40 to 50 cruise missiles on forces of two radical Islamic parties opposed to the Pro-U.S. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). These two groups are Ansar al-Islam (Supporters of Islam), believed associated with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida and Komala Islami Kurdistan (Islamic Society of Kurdistan). U.S. forces also began airlifting troops into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq to open a second front against Iraqi forces. 27 March - Iraq Fierce fighting erupts in the city of Samawah. U.S. forces are faced by up to 1,500 Iraqi irregulars at a bridge over the Euphraties River. They take control of the bridge and continue the advance to Baghdad. In northern Iraq, paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade parachute onto an airfield to open a northern front against Iraqi forces. Within days, Kurdish Peshmerga troops of the PUK, along with U.S. special forces units, assaulted the stronghold of the Ansar al-Islam group along the Iranian border. 30 March - Iraq U.S. forces advanced as far north as Karbala, where large battles with Iraqi forces took place. Major combat continued at Najaf, Nasiriyah, Basra and other locations with Iraqi guerrilla forces belonging to the Saddam Fedayeen. Surgical bombing raids on Baghdad and other Iraqi cities continued, as did Iraqi attempts to hit Kuwaiti-based targets with SCUD missiles. Six hundred British commandoes attacked near Basra, destroying Iraqi tanks and capturing nearly 300 prisoners. |
April |
4 April - Kuwait The Battalion elements crossed over the berm 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. |
LSA Bushmaster - Iraq 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. |
|
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. |
|
|
5 April - Baghdad, 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 - Basral British forces reach the center of Basra and declare the city is under Coalition control. 14 April - LSA Dogwood 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 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 - Iraq The 720th MP Battalion (now 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. Note: The last time the 720th was subordinate to the 18th MP Brigade was in Vietnam from October 1966 - August 1972. |
|
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 - 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 - Al 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. LTG 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 Al 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. |
May |
Date Unknown - Al-Fallujah Task Force Gauntlet conducted security clearing operations in support of Task Force Iron Hors, in the city of Al-Fallujah. The successful operation resulted in the seizure of weapons and ammunition. 2 May (on or about) 401st MP Company The 401st under command of CPT Marc C. Blair, was headquartered at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Gunfighter, a small compound comprised of two large fortified houses in a southern suburb of Tikrit, Al Saladin Provence. |
The 1st Platoon under command of 1LT Bishop and SFC Pierre was initially co-located with the company headquarters after they completed a five week mission in Baghdad. They were later relocated to Camp Speicher, an airfield in north Tikrit. The 2nd Platoon under command of 1LT Woods and SSG Gardner and 3rd Platoon under 1LT Amanda Dorsey and SFC Smith were co-located with the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry (Mechanized), in a former Iraqi palace on FOB Ironhorse in Tikrit. The 4th Platoon under command of 2LT Marks and SFC Blanche spent many months in Samarra undera task force organization of the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment. The 4th Platoon later co-located with the company headquarters in Tikrit. |
4 May - Baghdad, Iraq Members of the 410th MP Company provided security at the Baghdad International Airport for a U.S. fact finding congressional delegation that arrived to meet with senior military officials in Iraq. 11 May - Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Lieutenant General Jay Garner (appointed director 21 April) was replaced as director of the CPA by L. Paul Bremer. |
17 May - Tikrit Task Force Gauntlet left Al-Fallujah and became attached to the 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit. MAJ Paul Green, operations OIC, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and Task Force Gauntlet said Task Force Gauntlet not only accomplished its primary mission, but also earned the confidence and trust of Al-Fallujah’s citizens. |
June |
June The 64th MP Company, stationed at at Samarra East Airfield, continued to provide security in the assigned areas for 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment (4th ID) in Ad Duluiyah (2nd, 3rd and 4th Platoons) and north of Tikrit for the 4th Infantry Division, Brigade Combat Team, (1 st Platoon). |
|
7 June, Tikrit PFC Jesse M. Halling, age 19, of Indianapolis, Indiana, a member of the 401st MP Company, died from wounds received from automatic weapons and Rocket Propelled Grenade fire while assigned as the gunner in his vehicle outside an Iraqi/U.S. MP Station in Tikrit that was attacked by insurgents.
At approximately 0200 hours (2:00am), the sophisticated and organized ambush of the Civilian Military Operations Center (CMOC) a former municipal building which was protected by a sand bag wall and rings of concertina wire, and the Iraqi/U.S. Army Police Station several buildings north began. |
|
The attackers started with a fusillade of accurate small arms fire from concealed positions located on surrounding roof tops and a nearby berm. The attackers were probing the buildings defenses. The soldiers in the CMOC couldn’t identify any of the attackers positions because the street lights were on and they were unable to utilize their night vision goggles. The small arms fire stopped suddenly leaving only the sounds of howling dogs. The 401st MP Team ran from the Iraqi/MP Police Station to their vehicles in the street where they immediately started taking small arms fire. PVT Jesse M. Halling was the gunner in a three-man team of MP’s in the turret of a Humvee, while the driver, PFC Ronald Glass, and the team leader, SGT Angel Cedeño, sat below. PFC Glass said that PVT Halling was hammering away at the roof tops with his .50 caliber machine gun. The building was then hit by six to ten Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG), aimed at the third floor where the stations defenders slept and took their breaks during the night hours. The RPG’s hit their targets within four feet of each other leaving impact craters and shrapnel in the building facade. One barely missed a window. Another projectile penetrated a metal door, flew across the room and exited through the back wall. After the RPG attack the defenders opened fire on the enemy positions. During the intense fire fight PVT Halling, without regard for his own personal safety, remained exposed in the gunners turret laying down suppression fire with the .50 caliber machine gun and squeezing off rounds from his M16 while reloading the machine gun. He was also identifying targets for PFC Glass and SGT Cederio. PVT Halling was struck by enemy fire in the jaw and mortally wounded. He received emergency treatment by medics at the scene before being helicoptered out to a hospital. He died in route. SGT Cedeño told the other soldiers later that Halling, by remaining at his post, had saved his life. He never came down from the turret to seek shelter in the relative protection of the Humvee, as many soldiers might have done. "He never gave up," SSG James Ferguson, his squad leader said. PFC Halling was recommended for the Silver Star. During the review process the recommendation was downgraded by higher HQ to a Bronze Star for Valor. The CMOC does its community outreach from the building, taking complaints about stolen vehicles, looting, or the fate of men missing or arrested, and answering questions from pensioners or former state employees about when they might get paid again. It is believed that some of the Iraqis who came seeking help during the day were attackers or provided them with information on the buildings internal layout and defenses. |
July |
21 July, Tikrit Members of the 411th MP Company provide security during a search operation outside at a former palace of Saddam Hussein in Tikrit. |
WANTED: Photographs and or personal accounts of the search, please contact the History Project Manager via the Email Link at the top of this page. |
22 July, Iraqi Governing Council The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) formed the Iraqi Governing Council and appointed its members. The Council membership consisted largely of Iraqi expatriates who had previously fled the country during the rule of Saddam Hussein and also with many outspoken dissidents who had been persecuted by the former regime. Though still subordinate to the CPA, the Iraqi Governing Council had several key responsibilities of its own. Its duties included appointing representatives to the United Nations, appointing interim ministers to Iraq's vacant cabinet positions, and drafting a temporary constitution known as the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), which would be used to govern Iraq until a permanent constitution could be written and approved by the general electorate. Udai and Qusay Hussein (Saddam sons) are killed in a fire fight with elements of the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul. "Iraqi Police Services, Transition Integration Program (TIP)" The Coalition Provisional Authority did not establish a basic recruit training program for new Iraqi police officers until the end of 2003. In the interim, U.S. police advisers developed a three-week reorientation course, the Transition Integration Program (TIP), for rehired members of the Iraqi National Police. With U.S. Military Police serving as instructors, some 40,000 members of the IPS received training in weapons handling and the use of force in making arrests, and instruction on human rights, ethics, and law. |
The TIP was little more than a stop-gap measure, but it did provide a large number of Iraqi police with an introduction to modern police practices and some understanding of the nature of policing in a democratic society. The program was also used to verify the backgrounds and review the records of serving police officers, to remove those who were guilty of abuses, and to identify those who would benefit from additional training. |
Iraqi Police officers that pass the screening process are then issued new uniforms. These uniforms replace the green uniforms worn by the police under the Saddam Hussein regime. In addition to issuing new uniforms, the 720th MP Battalion is assisting the Iraqi Police in obtaining new radios, weapons and vehicles as well as upgrading their police stations with telephones, new furniture and a variety of repairs. |
26 July, Saturday, Fort Hood Approximately 130 soldiers from the 410th Military Police Company returned home to Fort Hood after serving almost eight months in Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom-I. |
WANTED: Photographs and itinerary of the arrival ceremonies, please contact the History Project Manager via the Email Link at the top of this page. |
27 July, Tikrit The Iraqi Police Transition Integration Program (TIP) conducted by members of the 720th MP Battalion, graduated its first class of Iraqi Police Staff Officers. |
The graduating staff officers will now return to the ranks of the civil police in the Salah Ad Din Provence. |
30 July, Tikrit Members of the 411th MP Company and Iraqi Police officers from Tikrit conducted joint raids on several homes of Bath Party loyalists. |
August |
August 2003 Battalion Newsletter PDF from Operation Iraqi Freedom-I |
Click on book Icon to read the Newsletter > |
or... Use your browser to download it. |
Photographs of members of the 720th MP Battalion on assignments in the month of August. |
23 August, Tikrit-Kirkuk, Salah-Al-Dein Provence A force of forty Task Force Iron Horse soldiers from the 720th Military Police Battalion and one-hundred eighty Iraqi Police officers from the Salah Al-Dein Province went on a joint raid in the city. The operation was the largest of its kind in the Tikrit area since the battalion arrived and began working with local Iraqi Police. The joint raid took place in a small village on the highway between Tikrit and Kirkuk. The location was suspected of housing gang members responsible for robberies, female assaults, and car theft in the area. This joint raid was the first time the Iraqi Police were responsible for planning and executing such an operation on their own. Task Force Iron horse soldiers provided support in case any unexpected situations arose. |
The successful operation resulted in the arrest of 25 suspects by the Iraqi Police and confiscation of several million Dinars (iraqi currency), as well as weapons and ammunition. |
26 August, Tikrit Members of the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th MP Brigade, supported Iraqi Police during a successful raid to search for illegal weapons in Tikrit, Iraq. |
28 August, Tikrit A total of sixty-seven Iraqi Police (IP) Staff Officers received their diplomas after graduating from the three week Police Transition Integration Program (TIP), conducted by members of the 720th MP Battalion. The ceremony was held at the 4th Infantry Division, 1st Brigade Headquarters, just south of Tikrit.
|
September |
17 September Members of the 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon, “Wolfpack,” 64th MP Company in the CMOC (Civil Military Operations Center) in Samarra, Iraq. |
29 September, Tikrit Over 200 Iraqi Police, Commanded by GEN Hammid Nasim Abdoullah, deputy provincial police chief, supported by members of the 720th MP Battalion, and elements of Task Force Iron Horse, conducted a joint operation within the city, once the home town of Saddam Hussein. The target of the operation was designed to break the back of the Fedayeen believed to be directly responsible for firing rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. convoys along a stretch of roadway in central Tikrit known as "RPG alley." They were also thought to be the men who have detonated scores of homemade bombs along that road and the main highway running through Tikrit that connects Baghdad with the northern part of the country. Although only four people were detained in the simultaneous raids against 15 houses in downtown Tikrit, LTC David Poirier, Battalion Commander, classified the operation as a success because Iraqi police had led the raids .Date unknown, 401st MP Company The 401st MP Company was ordered moved from Tikrit to FOB Ironhorse. Date unknown, 401st MP Company 1LT James Bishop was reassigned from 1st Platoon to Executive Officer and 2LT Wendy Cook was assigned as the new 1st Platoon Leader. |
October |
8 October, Tikrit Task Force Iron Horse, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), carried out one-hundred thirty joint patrols with Iraqi security services in the Tikrit area of the Sunni Triangle. The patrols targeted insurgent operations, suspected weapons caches and safe houses. |
November |
Exact dates unknown, Kirkuk Elements of the 64th Military Police Company, operated the 173rd Airborne Brigade's Collection Facility at Camp Renegade, Kirkuk Airbase. 2 November, All Fallujah Insurgents shot down a CH-47 Chinook Helicopter transporting U. S. troops, initially killing 15 soldiers and wounding 27 others. The Chinook was one of two carrying dozens of soldiers on their way to Baghdad airport and leave. The Chinook was brought down by one of two portable, shoulder-fired missiles that were fired at it. 3 November, Highway-1 Due to a heightened alert as the result of the Chinook shoot down (2 November), members of the 411th MP Company and their Iraqi Police counterparts were assigned to construct checkpoints along the main artery running north from Baghdad, dubbed ``Highway 1,'' to look for weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles. SPC Andrew Fifield, 411th, and others yet identified worked the checkpoints. 15 November, 401st MP Company CPT Marc C. Blair who commanded the 401st since it's arrival in Iraq passed command of the company to CPT Jennifer K. Knight in a ceremony in front of a bombed out palace formerly owned by Saddam Hussein on FOB Ironhorse in Tikrit, Iraq. |
Ambush At Sammura |
30 November, Sammura Members of the 2nd Platoon, 64th MP Company were ambushed during a security escort while delivering Iraqi currency (ICE) to a bank in Sammura. The ensuing fire fight lasted 45 minutes during which SGT Philip G. Stow was severely wounded along with a Fijian civilian contractor. At the time of this action the members of the 64th MP Company, "Guardians," 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas, were serving with the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. |
|
December |
Saddam Hussein Captured |
13 December, Anwar, Iraq U.S. forces captured Saddam Hussein as he hid in the bottom of a hole at a farmhouse near Tikrit. The former Iraqi dictator was captured at 2030 hours (8:30 PM) in a well disguised spider hole next to a farmhouse in the town of Adwar, 10 miles from Tikrit, ending one of the most intense manhunts in history. Hussein had been on the run since the fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces on April 9. |
19 December, Sammura, Iraq As a direct result of the ambush in Sammura on 30 November, and the lack of effective Iraqi civil police (IP) activity in the city, Major General Ray Odierno, Commander Task Force Iron Horse, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), assigned LTC David Poirier to have the 720th rebuild and reform the Sammura Police Force, as they had successfully done with the Tikrit and Salah Ad Din Provincial Police forces. |
WANTED: Your information, photographs and personal stories relating to the Iraqi Police training and facilities, please contact the History Project Manager via the Email Link at the top of this page. |
The task involved field and classroom training, coordinating Iraqi Police and MP patrols, rebuilding and refurbishing of seven police stations in the city, as well as working with 4th Infantry Division engineers to provide adequate defensive fortifications for the buildings, and providing new vehicles, radios, uniforms, and weapons, such as Glock 19 handguns. Experience revealed that the IP can better relate to working combined patrols with the MPs than with infantry soldiers. |
22 December, Iraq Members of the 2nd Platoon, 64th MP Company, "Wolfpack," at FOB Iron Horse, Tikrit, Iraq. |
25 December, Christmas Day, Iraq Members of the 2nd Platoon, "Wolfpack," 64th MP Company, enjoying Christmas dinner in the Chow Hall at Tikrit, Iraq, FOB Iron Horse. |
Photographs ~ Operation Iraqi Freedom |
M00043 ? |
05??03, SSG Merzke, 411th and unidentified MP during security operation in Al-Fallugah. |
M00044 ? |
05??03, Unidentified MPs displaying seized weapons from Al-Fallugah. |
050403, Rep. Hayes, N.C., greets PFC Huerta, of the 410th MP Company, at Baghdad Airport. |
|
080903, LTC Portier getting ice in Ad Duluiyah. |
|
060703, SPC Derek Shaver, 1st Platoon, 410th at Cobra Base, Abu Ghuyarb Palace. |
|
060703, SPC Felicitas Surovec, 1st Platoon, 410th at Cobra Base, Abu Ghuyarb Palace. |
|
070303, SSG Preston Huddleston, 411th, searches Iraqi personnel entering Camp Iron Horse. |
|
M00042 ? |
072103, 1LT Mary Newell 411th, during operation in Tikrit. |
M00052 ? |
072703, SSG Eric Hankins and unidentified instructor train Iraqi Police in Tikrit. |
M00053 ? |
072703, Unidentified instructor trains Iraqi Police in Tikrit. |
072703, SFC Robledo, HHD trains Iraqi Police in Tikrit. |
|
M00055 ? |
072703, SFC Robledo, HHD and unidentified instructor train Iraqi Police in Tikrit. |
M00056 ? |
072703, Unidentified instructor trains Iraqi Police in Tikrit. |
072703, SFC Paul Chase, 411th trains Iraqi Police in Tikrit. |
|
M00112 ? |
073003, 411th, PFC Steven Bach and unidentified MP's during cordon and search in Tikrit. |
073003, 411th, SPC Cris Lortz and PFC Steven Bach during cordon and search in Tikrit. |
|
073003, 411th, SPC Cris Lortz and PFC Steven Bach during cordon and search in Tikrit. |
|
M00057 ? |
073103, Iraqi Police Transition Integration Program Instructors and graduates. |
08??03, SGT Gary Rigsby, 411th MP Company, during the Transition Integration Program. |
|
08??03, PVT Brian Milliron, 411th MP Company, during the Transition Integration Program. |
|
08??03, CPT Omar Lomas, 411th MP Company, during the Transition Integration Program. |
|
081403, SPC Farmer 411th, guards a bank in Tikrit. |
|
082003, SGT Lopez 401st, during a night patrol in Tikrit. |
|
082103, PFC Johnson 401st, stands guard during reparations payments in Al Alim. |
|
082203, SGT Bush, 411th, and SPC's Portillo and Bradshaw guard Camp Ironhorse. |
|
M00045 ? |
082303, LTC Portier, unidentified MP and Iraqi Police during raid for bandits near Kirkuk. |
M00046 ? |
082303, LTC Portier, unidentified MPs and Iraqi Police during raid for bandits near Kirkuk. |
082303, IP arrest suspects during bandit raid near Kirkuk. |
|
082303, IP Chief questions a long wanted bandit during a raid near Kirkuk. |
|
082303, IP's examine the weapons, ammunition and currency seized during a raid near Kirkuk. |
|
082603, SGT David Salinas, 401st, searching for weapons in Tikrit. |
|
082603, Iraqi Police recovering weapons in Tikrit. |
|
082603, LTC Portier questions a farmer about weapons in Tikrit. |
|
082603, Iraqi Police recovering weapons in Tikrit. |
|
091703, 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon, “Wolfpack,” 64th MP Company, at the CMOC, Samarra. |
|
110503, PVT Devon Rather, 64th, splices a communication wire outside Camp Renegade. |
|
122503, 2nd Platoon, “Wolfpack,” 64th MP Company, at dinner, Tikrit, Iraq, FOB Iron Horse. |
|
2003, SGT Stow and SGT Stinemetze, 64th MP Company at FOB Brassfield-Mora. |
Photographs ~ Fort Hood |
Your photographs are needed. |
|