Task Force 91 Looks Ahead Following Nine-Operation Campaign Across Southern and Central Iraq

May 1, 2003 — Iraq

President George W. Bush has declared that major combat operations in Iraq are over, marking the end of the opening phase of the war following the fall of Baghdad.

For the Members of Task Force 91, the announcement closes a campaign fought across nine major operations, culminating in the siege and clearance of Baghdad after weeks of sustained fighting across southern and central Iraq.

Among the most heavily engaged elements was Callsign Hitman, which spearheaded a series of assaults beginning with the seizure of Talill Airfield and the subsequent fighting through Talill City. From there, Hitman pushed deeper into hostile territory, clearing Al Salman and the infamous Al Salman Prison before continuing operations around Al Khinaq.

The fighting around Al Khinaq proved especially important, with Hitman conducting repeated assaults against surrounding military installations, defensive positions, and oil refinery complexes, denying Iraqi forces critical infrastructure and opening the route north.

Elsewhere, 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion conducted clearance operations through Muwaffiquiyah, maintaining pressure on retreating Iraqi formations and securing key approaches for follow-on coalition forces.

Supporting the advance toward Al Salman, Alpha Company, 1st Tank Battalion, attached to Regimental Combat Team 7, cleared hostile positions along the city's outskirts. Their armored assault opened the approaches into the area and allowed Hitman and RCT-1 to begin the larger clearance of Al Salman itself.

By the time coalition forces reached Baghdad, months of planning and nine operations had transformed Task Force 91 from a newly formed combat element into a veteran formation.

A Growing Task Force

The campaign has also brought a steady stream of new personnel into Task Force 91.

New members have joined the unit throughout the fighting. Many arrived while combat operations were already underway and quickly found themselves participating in the push toward Baghdad.

With every operation, the unit has continued to grow, not only in numbers, but in experience.

Veterans of Talill, Al Salman, Al Khinaq, Muwaffiquiyah, and Baghdad now serve alongside newer members preparing for their first deployments outside the relative security of coalition-controlled territory.

Yet despite the declaration that major combat has ended, few within Task Force 91 believe their mission in Iraq is finished.

The Next War

The collapse of organized Iraqi resistance has already begun giving way to a different threat.

Weapons caches remain scattered across the country. Former regime personnel have disappeared into towns and villages. Armed groups are beginning to organize beyond the reach of coalition forces, while attacks against patrols and military positions threaten to turn isolated resistance into a sustained insurgency.

Among the greatest concerns are the rise of militant organizations such as the Mahdi Army and Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), groups expected to exploit the instability left behind by the collapse of the former Iraqi government.

For Task Force 91, Baghdad was not the finish line.

It was only the end of the first campaign.

The next bound will take the task force away from conventional assaults against airfields, armored formations, and fortified cities, and into a war against insurgents, roadside bombs, ambushes, and enemies that may disappear into the population as quickly as they emerge.

Major combat may be over. The fight for Iraq is not.