Task Force Tarawa
Task Force Tarawa (TFT) was the name given to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was a Marine Air-Ground Task Force commanded by Brigadier General Richard F. NatonskiNatonski message. that was attached to the I Marine Expeditionary Force during the course of the invasion and was most notable for its participation in the heavy fighting in the city of an-Nāṣiriyyah. During its time supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, the task force suffered 23 Marines killed in action. Deployment The 7,100 Marines and Sailors of TFT departed Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on January 15, 2003. They were transported on seven United States Navy ships that together formed Amphibious Task Force East (ATF East); otherwise nicknamed the 'Magnificent Seven'. The ships were the , , , , , , and the . ATF East arrived in Kuwait on February 15, 2003 and quickly debarked their aircraft and ships then headed into the northern Kuwaiti desert. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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M198 Howitzer
The M198 is a medium-sized, towed 155 mm artillery piece, developed for service with the United States Army and Marine Corps. It was commissioned to be a replacement for the World War II-era M114 155 mm howitzer. It was designed and prototyped at the Rock Island Arsenal in 1969 with firing tests beginning in 1970 and went into full production there in 1978. It entered service in 1979 and since then 1,600 units have been produced. The M198 was replaced in US and Australian service by the M777 howitzer. Description The M198 155 mm howitzer weighs less than , allowing it to be dropped by parachute or transported by a CH-53E Super Stallion or CH-47 Chinook. The M198 is a towed howitzer that is transported tail first. The gun tube can be rotated over the howitzer's trail legs to reduce its length, though this requires removal of the muzzle brake, or left in the firing position for faster deployment. When firing, the weapon is lowered onto its baseplate rather than being ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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507th Maintenance Company
The 507th Maintenance Company was a United States Army unit which was ambushed during the Battle of Nasiriyah in the rapid advance towards Baghdad during 2003 invasion of Iraq on 23 March 2003. The most well known member of the unit was Private First Class Jessica Lynch whose rescue from an Iraqi hospital received worldwide media coverage. Sergeant Donald Walters and Private First Class Patrick Miller were both awarded the Silver Star for valor. Sergeant Matthew Rose was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device. Many other members of the unit were decorated as well, receiving the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, and/or Prisoner of War Medal. On 16 July 2005, the 507th Maintenance Company was redesignated as Battery E, 5th Battalion, 52d Air Defense Artillery Regiment. In 2006, A monument to the 507th Maintenance Company was placed within the battalion's area on Fort Bliss, Texas. In January 2007, the unit's designation was changed to Battery F. Overview The 507th Ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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24th Marine Expeditionary Unit
The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. The MEU consists of a Command Element, a Ground Combat Element based on a reinforced infantry battalion, an Aviation Combat Element based on a reinforced tiltrotor squadron, and a Logistics Command Element based on a Combat Logistics Battalion. The 24th MEU is currently based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Its stated mission is to provide geographic combatant commanders with a forward-deployed, rapid-response force capable of conducting conventional amphibious and selected maritime special operations at night or under adverse weather conditions from the sea, by surface and/or by air while under communications and electronics restrictions. Current subordinate units * Ground Combat Element: 2nd B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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15th Marine Expeditionary Unit
The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU) is one of seven such units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. The MEU consists of a command element, a reinforced infantry battalion, a composite helicopter squadron and a combat logistics battalion. The 15th MEU is currently based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Mission The mission of the MEU is to provide geographic combatant commanders with a forward-deployed, rapid-response force capable of conducting conventional amphibious and selected maritime operations at night or under adverse weather conditions from the sea, by surface and/or by air while under communications and electronics restrictions. Current subordinate units * Ground Combat Element: 1st Battalion, 4th Marines * Aviation Combat Element: VMM-164 (REIN) * Logistics Combat Element: Combat Logistics Batt ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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A-10 Warthog
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, a World War II-era fighter-bomber effective at attacking ground targets, but commonly referred to as the "Warthog" or simply " Hog". The A-10 was designed to provide close air support (CAS) to friendly ground troops by attacking armored vehicles, tanks, and other enemy ground forces; it is the only production-built aircraft designed solely for CAS to have served with the U.S. Air Force. Its secondary mission is to direct other aircraft in attacks on ground targets, a role called forward air controller-airborne; aircraft used primarily in this role are designated OA-10. The A-10 was intended to improve on the performance and firepower of the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Its airframe was designed for durability, with measures su ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Friendly Fire
In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while engaging an enemy, long range ranging errors or inaccuracy. Accidental fire not intended to attack enemy/hostile targets, and deliberate firing on one's own troops for disciplinary reasons, is not called friendly fire,Regan, Geoffrey (2002) ''Backfire: a history of friendly fire from ancient warfare to the present day'', Robson Books and neither is unintentional harm to civilian or neutral targets, which is sometimes referred to as collateral damage. Training accidents and bloodless incidents also do not qualify as friendly fire in terms of casualty reporting. Use of the term "friendly" in a military context for allied personnel started during the First World War, often when shells fell short of the targeted enemy. The term ''friendly fire ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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11th Division (Iraq)
The 11th Infantry Division is a formation (military) of the Iraqi Army. During the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990-91, the 11th Infantry Division occupied Kuwait City. It participated in the Battle of Kuwait International Airport. History In 2002 the division was made up of the 23rd, 45th and 47th Infantry Brigades.R.J. LeeKey Components of the Iraqi Ground Forces, 2002/ref> As the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq began, three brigade-sized elements of the division were guarding the An Nasiriyah area as part of the 3rd Corps. After reformation circa 2006-2007, its headquarters was located in the former Ministry of Defence building in Baghdad. Division units: * 42nd Infantry Brigade ('Tigers') - Adhamiyah (NE Baghdad) (former 2nd Brigade, 6th Division) * 43rd Infantry Brigade - Western Baghdad * 44th Infantry Brigade - Sadr City * 45th Infantry Brigade - Eastern Baghdad (planned to be operational in 2008) The 11th Division was put in place at the end of 2007 as part of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fedayeen
Fedayeen ( ar, فِدائيّين ''fidāʼīyīn'' "self-sacrificers") is an Arabic term used to refer to various military groups willing to sacrifice themselves for a larger campaign. Etymology The term ''fedayi'' is derived from Arabic: ''fidā'īyūn'' , literally meaning: "those who sacrifice themselves". Per country Armenia Armenian fedayi groups acted as irregular militia troops to defend their lands during the Hamidian massacres and the CUP's genocidal policies. Egypt During the 1940s, groups of Egyptian civilians formed ''fedayeen'' groups to contest the British occupation of Egypt, which by then was limited to the region against the Suez Canal. The British Army had established numerous military outposts around the canal zone, which many Egyptians viewed as a violation of their national sovereignty. This opposition was not supported by the Egyptian government, though these ''fedayeen'' groups held broad support among the general public in Egypt. In 1951 "mo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, and later, the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and its regional organization, the Iraqi Ba'ath Party—which espoused Ba'athism, a mix of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism—Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup (later referred to as the 17 July Revolution) that brought the party to power in Iraq. As vice president under the ailing General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, and at a time when many groups were considered capable of overthrowing the government, Saddam created security forces through which he tightly controlled conflicts between the government and the armed forces. In the early 1970s, Saddam nationalised the Iraq Petroleum Company and independent banks, eventually leaving the banking system insolve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1st Marine Division (United States)
The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the oldest and largest active duty division in the United States Marine Corps, representing a combat-ready force of more than 19,000 personnel. It is one of three active duty divisions in the Marine Corps today and is a multi-role, expeditionary ground combat force. It is nicknamed "The Old Breed". Mission The division is employed as the ground combat element (GCE) of the I Marine Expeditionary Force or may provide task-organized forces for assault operations and such operations as may be directed. The 1st Marine Division must be able to provide the ground amphibious forcible entry capability to the naval expeditionary force (NEF) and to conduct subsequent land operations in any operational environment.. Accessed 9 June 2009. 10 June ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Euphrates River
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Euphrates flows through Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris in the Shatt al-Arab, which empties into the Persian Gulf. Etymology The Ancient Greek form ''Euphrátēs'' ( grc, Εὐφράτης, as if from Greek εὖ "good" and φράζω "I announce or declare") was adapted from Old Persian 𐎢𐎳𐎼𐎠𐎬𐎢 ''Ufrātu'', itself from Elamite 𒌑𒅁𒊏𒌅𒅖 ''ú-ip-ra-tu-iš''. The Elamite name is ultimately derived from a name spelt in cuneiform as 𒌓𒄒𒉣 , which read as Sumerian is "Buranuna" and read as Akkadian is "Purattu"; many cuneiform signs have a Sumerian pronunciation and an Akkadian pronunciation, taken from a Sumerian word and an Akkadian word that mean the same. In Akkadian the river was called ''Purattu'', ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |