Task Force Tarawa (TFT) was the name given to the

2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade The 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade is a brigade of the United States Marine Corps. It is part of II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). It advertises itself as a "middleweight" crises response force of choice in the European and Southern Comma ...

during the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. It was a

Marine Air-Ground Task Force Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF, pronounced MAG-TAF) is a term used by the United States Marine Corps to describe the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations. MAGTFs are a balanced air-ground, combined ar ...

commanded by Brigadier General

Richard F. Natonski Richard F. Natonski is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general whose last assignment was as the Commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command. He assumed the post in August 2008, having previously served as the United States Mari ...

Natonski 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 {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, the task force suffered 23 Marines killed in action.

Deployment

The 7,100 Marines and Sailors of TFT departed

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States Armed Forces, United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for Amphibious warfare, amphibious assault training, and its ...

, 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 Task force's equipment consisted of 81 aircraft, 46 Amphibious Assault Vehicles, 24 LAVs, 14 M1A1 Abrams tanks, 18 M198 howitzers, and 4 M9 ACEs. (however they only had 12 Abrams when the fighting started.)

Operation Iraqi Freedom

TFT crossed into Iraq on March 21, 2003 with the missions of securing Jalibah Airfield and then securing the 3 bridges over the

Euphrates River The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

at An Nasiriyah to allow the

1st Marine Division 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 ...

to continue its attack north. From March 23 to March 29, 2003, Task Force Tarawa was engaged in heavy fighting in and around the city of An Nasiriyah as they came in contact with Saddam Hussein’s

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: '' ...

and members of the Iraqi 11th Infantry Division. TFT lost 18 Marines in the fighting and were involved in a friendly fire incident in which two A-10 Warthog aircraft killed a number of Marines when they strafed their Amphibious Assault Vehicles with 30mm depleted uranium rounds and Maverick missiles. The A-10 pilots were not prosecuted. During this time the original task force grew with the additions of the

15th 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...

and

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 ...

s. The Marines of TFT were the first U.S. unit to come in contact with the remnants of the

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 ...

after they were ambushed and later on were on standby to assist with the rescue of prisoner of war PFC Jessica Lynch. After leaving An Nasiriyah, the Task Force was tasked with securing the highways to the rear of the 1st Marine Division and on April 3, 2003 they secured the town of

Ad Diwaniyah Al Diwaniyah ( ar, ٱلدِّيوَانِيَّة ''ad-Dīwānīyah''), also spelt Diwaniya, is the capital city of Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate. In 2002 the population was estimated at 440,927. Overview The area around Al Diwaniyah, which i ...

. They continued to move and on April 7, pushed into

Al Amarah Amarah ( ar, ٱلْعَمَارَة, al-ʿAmārah), also spelled Amara, is a city in south-eastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km (31 mi) from the border with Iran. It lies at the ...

, securing the 10th Armoured Division HQ and the nearby Al Amarah airfield and finally ended the invasion outside of Baghdad after conducting security and stabilization operations in

Al Kut Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

on April 11. On May 14, 2003 Task Force Tarawa turned its Area of Operations over to the

and returned to the United States via naval ship. While en route back to the United States on June 12, 2003,

3rd Battalion 2nd Marines 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines (3/2) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Comprising approximately 1000 marines and sailors and nicknamed the "Betio Bastards", they f ...

(3/2) while aboard was deployed in support of

Operation Shining Express Operation Shining Express was the June 2003 deployment of an American Joint Task Force task, consisting of the amphibious assault ship USS ''Kearsarge'' (LHD-3), the 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines (3/2), and a detachment of HH-60G helicopters and Pa ...

to support the rescue of U.S. embassy personnel and American citizens during the

Second Liberian Civil War The Second Liberian Civil War was a conflict in the West African nation of Liberia lasted from 1999 to 2003. It was preceded by the First Liberian Civil War, which ended in 1996. President Charles Taylor came to power in 1997 after victory in t ...

Order of battle

- BGen R.F. Natonski :Company A, 8th Communication Battalion :Detachment, 2nd Intelligence Battalion - Maj J.P. Christopher :Detachment, 2nd Radio Battalion - Maj T. Naughton :

2nd Marine Regiment The 2nd Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and fall under the command of the 2nd Marine Division and the II Marine Expeditionary Force. C ...

1st Battalion, 2nd Marines 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines (1/2) (pronounced "one-two") is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, consisting of approximately 900 Marines and sailors. The battalion, ca ...

(1/2) ::

2nd Battalion, 8th Marines 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines (2/8) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina consisting of approximately 900 Marines and Sailors. Nicknamed "America's Battalion," they f ...

(2/8) ::

2nd Battalion, 6th Marines 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines (2/6) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Also known as "The Ready Battalion" or "2/6 Spartans", it consists of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors and ...

(2/6) ::

3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines (3/2) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Comprising approximately 1000 marines and sailors and nicknamed the "Betio Bastards", they f ...

(3/2) ::

1st Battalion, 10th Marines 1st Battalion, 10th Marines (1/10) is an artillery battalion composed of four firing batteries and a headquarters battery. The battalion is stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and falls under the command of 10th Marine Regiment, part of 2d ...

(1/10) :: Company C,

2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion is a fast and mobilized armored terrestrial reconnaissance battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Their primary weapon system is the 8-wheeled LAV-25 and they fall under the command of the 2nd Ma ...

:: Company A,

2nd Reconnaissance Battalion The 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion (2nd Recon) is a reconnaissance battalion in the United States Marine Corps. Located at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, the battalion falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Division and the II Ma ...

:: Company A,

2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion is a mechanized battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Their primary weapon system is the Amphibious Assault Vehicle. The battalion is a separate battalion within the 2nd Marine Division and the II Marine ...

(Attached to 1/2) :: Company A,

8th Tank Battalion 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

(Attached to 1/2) (deactivated currently Company E, 4th Tank Battalion) :: Company A,

2nd Combat Engineer Battalion 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion is a combat engineer battalion of the United States Marine Corps . They are based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and fall under the command of the 2nd Marine Division and the II Marine Expedi ...

:: Company A, 6th Combat Engineer Battalion Battle Creek, MI : Marine Air Control Group 28 ::

2d Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion 2d Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion (2d LAAD) is an air defense unit of the United States Marine Corps. They are part of Marine Air Control Group 28 (MACG-28) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) and are currently based at Marine Corps ...

:: Marine Air Support Squadron 1 : Marine Aircraft Group 29, MCAS New River, North Carolina :: Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 29 :: HMH-464 :: HMLA-269 ::

HMM-162 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 (VMM-162) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Golden Eagles", is based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Caro ...

- Helicopter Marine Medium : Combat Service Support Battalion 22

Notes

References

* ''This article incorporates text in the public domain from the United States Marine Corps.''
2nd MEB website
Retrieved on 2006-08-06. * * *

External links