101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT) HITS FEDAYEEN STRONGHOLD

CENTCOM ^ | Dec. 10, 2003

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

	NEWS RELEASE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894

December 10, 2003
Release Number: 03-12-22


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT) HITS FEDAYEEN STRONGHOLD

MOSUL, Iraq – The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) captured numerous Fedayeen, Saddam and other former regime elements during two operations in northern Iraq.

The Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) conducted simultaneous cordon-and-knock operations against 34 targets across Mosul early Wednesday morning. Fifty-two individuals were detained, including a former Fedayeen brigadier general, other former Fedayeen officers, and Ba’ath Party loyalists.

During a second operation, elements of the 2nd BCT air assaulted into the village of Salamiyah, east of Mosul, where they searched 110 houses and confiscated several weapons and munitions.

Additionally, the brigade detained 11 persons in Mosul on Tuesday for suspicion of illegal weapons sales.

There were no casualties during these operations.

The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) continues to work with local officials and populations to find and remove threats to Coalition Forces and new Iraqi governmental agencies.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

The Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) conducted simultaneous cordon-and-knock operations against 34 targets across Mosul early Wednesday morning. Fifty-two individuals were detained, including a former Fedayeen brigadier general, other former Fedayeen officers, and Ba’ath Party loyalists.

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101st Airborne Division, ping!
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[boxerblues]

hooah!! Way to go SCreaming Eagles

[xzins]

This is great news.

Just a comment, though. The 101st is the Army's only air assault helicopter division. That seems to be a critical asset and the rotation of troops will emphasize that we really need 2 of those divisions instead of just one.

[Knightsofswing]

Go get E'm guys!

Good luck & happy hunting!

[Cap Huff]

Obviously this whole Iraqi situation is going to take some time, but sooner or later the pressure will be so intense on what remains of the Ba'athists and their foreign friends that they will break and the country will be effectively pacified. The tide is going only one way from what it looks if you read enough reports.

[Coop]

Fine work by the finest of folks!

[blackie]

101st Airborne Division ~ Bump!

[tbpiper]

The only time my son's been in a helicopter was to get to Mosul back in April. The rest of the time he's been either 'unmounted'(walking) or in an IED magnet (HumVee).

[boxerblues]

I don't know about you but I would prefer that my son keep his feet on the ground as much as possible. Makes for a much smaller target

[whizzer]

At some point,as their numbers shrink,they will get the message.

[tbpiper]

I don't know about you but I would prefer that my son keep his feet on the ground as much as possible. Makes for a much smaller target

Amen to that. That last crash in Mosul scared the crap out of us. He'd done QRF duty before and I didn't really think he'd be on one of the blackhawks, but we didn't hear from him as usual and I was starting to have a near panic attack. Every car that drove near the house made me jump, thinking it might be the DoD. Turns out he was just stuck guarding the bank and couldn't get to a computer. The crash was in his sector, but not any of his group. With him losing his friend and just barley missing getting killed, twice Sunday, his mother & I are starting to have our own version of battle fatigue.

[oyez]

The only good Fedayeen are dead Fedayeen.

BTW, Does anyone know the GI slang for Fedayeen?

[PsyOp]

Just a comment, though. The 101st is the Army's only air assault helicopter division. That seems to be a critical asset and the rotation of troops will emphasize that we really need 2 of those divisions instead of just one.

Though the 101st is the only division devoted to this, most division have some limited air-assault capability. Loosely defined, air-assault is simply the insertion of infantry with helicopters. The 101st just has more lift helos and troops trained in those tactics.

The other thing that makes them unique is their rapid-deployment capability (getting into theater fast). When I was with the 101st in the 80's we and the 82d Abn were the two rapid-deployment divisions.

[doodad]

I sure hope you will share it with us.

[nicko]

true, the 101 can move a lot of troops into and around theater pretty quickly...I spent an awful lot of time in the 80's with the Division on Campbell, "training" for rapid deployment, which usually meant sitting in the mud on Heavy Beast waiting for the rain to stop so we could keep digging tank traps...yee haw...

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[Jim Cane]

God Bless our men in combat, and return them safely.

[longfellow]

yeah it is a quagmire out there Al.

[aShepard]

...captured numerous Fedayeen....
....Fifty-two individuals were detained.....
...detained 11 persons .....

We don't need no stinking detainees!