Marine Air-Ground Task Force
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
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Operation Iraqi Freedom
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...
, the task force suffered 23 Marines
killed in action
Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...
.
Deployment
The 7,100 Marines and Sailors of TFT departed
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) 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, an ...
,
North Carolina
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on January 15, 2003. They were transported on seven
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
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
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–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
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
on March 21, 2003 with the missions of securing Jalibah Airfield and then securing the 3 bridges over the Euphrates River at An Nasiriyah to allow the 1st Marine Division 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
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
’s
Fedayeen
Fedayeen ( ''fidāʻiyyūn'' "self-sacrificers") is an Arabic language, Arabic term used to refer to various military groups willing to sacrifice themselves for a larger campaign.
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"Fidayun" is the plural of "fidayi" ( ''fidāʻiyy'' ...
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 and 24th Marine Expeditionary Units. The Marines of TFT were the first U.S. unit to come in contact with the remnants of the 507th Maintenance Company after they were ambushed and later on were on standby to assist with the rescue of
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
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. They continued to move and on April 7, pushed into Al Amarah, securing the 10th Armoured Division HQ and the nearby Al Amarah airfield and finally ended the invasion outside of
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
after conducting security and stabilization operations in
Al Kut
Kūt (), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare, Kut al-Imara, or Kut Al Amara is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad, and the capital of the Wasit Governorate. the estimated populat ...
on April 11.
On May 14, 2003 Task Force Tarawa turned its Area of Operations over to the 1st Marine Division 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 (3/2) while aboard was deployed in support of Operation Shining Express 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 civil war in the West African nation of Liberia that lasted from 1999 to 2003. The war was mainly caused by transition failures after the First Civil War, especially the peace-building process which would res ...
2nd Combat Engineer Battalion
2nd Combat Engineer Battalion is a combat engineer, 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 (United ...
Marine Expeditionary Unit
A Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU, pronounced as one syllable "" IPA: ) is the smallest Marine air-ground task force, air-ground task force (MAGTF) in the United States Fleet Marine Force.Justin LeHew
Citations
References
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from the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...