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In reply to the discussion: I got to jump out of a Blackhawk for the first time today! (PICS) [View all]RZM
(8,556 posts)60. I think it was the 4th ID
From Wikipedia:
Alerted on 19 January 2003, the 4th Infantry Division was scheduled to take part in the Iraq War in the spring of 2003 by spearheading an advance from Turkey into northern Iraq. The Turkish Parliament refused to grant permission for the operation and the division's equipment remained offshore on ships during the buildup for the war. Its original mission, holding 13 Iraqi divisions along the "Green Line" in northern Iraq, was executed by the joint Task Force Viking. Arriving through Kuwait after the invasion had started, the division was subjected to multiple "SCUD" alerts while at Camps Wolf and Udairi, necessitating the retreat to bunkers in full chemical protective gear.
The division was unable to deploy in time to start the invasion but joined it as a follow-on force in April 2003 attacking toward Tikrit and Mosul, and later became a major part of occupation forces during the post-war period. Headquartered in Saddam Hussein's former palaces, the 4th ID was deployed in the northern area of the Sunni Triangle near Tikrit. The 4th Infantry Division was spread all over Northern Iraq from Kirkuk to the Iranian border as far south as Balad Air Base in Balad, Iraq. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team Headquarters was assigned to Balad Air Base. The 4th Infantry Division also disarmed the MEK warriors in Northern Iraq in JulyAugust 2003.
The division was unable to deploy in time to start the invasion but joined it as a follow-on force in April 2003 attacking toward Tikrit and Mosul, and later became a major part of occupation forces during the post-war period. Headquartered in Saddam Hussein's former palaces, the 4th ID was deployed in the northern area of the Sunni Triangle near Tikrit. The 4th Infantry Division was spread all over Northern Iraq from Kirkuk to the Iranian border as far south as Balad Air Base in Balad, Iraq. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team Headquarters was assigned to Balad Air Base. The 4th Infantry Division also disarmed the MEK warriors in Northern Iraq in JulyAugust 2003.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_Infantry_Division_%28United_States%29
Apparently only one battalion from the First ID deployed at the beginning of the campaign, actually to support the 173rd Airborne in the North (I didn't know this until today).
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I got to jump out of a Blackhawk for the first time today! (PICS) [View all]
USArmyParatrooper
Mar 2012
OP
A high school buddy of mine joined special forces because you had to jump from copters
rustydog
Mar 2012
#21
I and my spouse will be doing the "zipline" in downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street in May but ....
Better Believe It
Mar 2012
#26
I personally never saw the rationale for jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft.
Buns_of_Fire
Mar 2012
#43
That's nice, but I'd rather my tax dollars were going for something useful.
Comrade Grumpy
Mar 2012
#47