Active Unit News

Task Force Ironhorse Focuses on Mission
Story by Master Sgt Debra Bingham, Task Force Ironhorse PAO

While media interest in Iraq seems to be waning, the soldiers of Task Force Ironhorse remain steadfast in their mission; to maintain peace and help the Iraqi people re-build their country. Task Force Ironhrose is responsible for three provinces in Central Iraq: Salah Ad Din, At Tamim and Diyala . The three provinces cover an area of about 22,000 miles, that’s a region slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia. The task force has the largest areas of operation and one of the most diverse missions. A Brigade Combat Team, or BCT oversees each province. Sala Ad Din is under the governance of 1st BCT. Its major population centers are Tikrit, Bayji and Samara. The 173rd Airborne Brigade operates within At Tamim province, along with 3rd BCT located in the south. At Tamim province includes the cities of Kirkuk and Dibs. Diyala province is split between 2nd BCT in the west, 4th BCT in the east, and 3rd BCT in the northeast. The cities of Baqubah, Jalula and Kifri are located in Diyala province. While the major fighting of the war appears to be over, combat operations continue according to Col. James Barclay, Chief of Staff, Task Force Ironhorse. The mission also includes civil affairs operations. Barclay says raids are still being made to capture former regime members. On May 15, members of the 1st BCT conducted an early morning raid and captured several former Iraqi leaders. Among them was Gen. Mahdi Al-Duri Al-Tikrit Adil Abdallah, also known as Number 52 on the “Most Wanted List.” The BCTs also continue to find, secure and consolidate or destroy weapons caches they are locating on a daily basis across the countryside, according to Barclay. “We still have a huge paramilitary presence that we’re working to make sure we have under control. Every night we’re having small engagements with anywhere from 5 to 10 to 15 man groups who are setting up ambushes and making sniper attacks on convoys,” Barclay said. Barclay says every BCT has a Civilian Affairs (CA) support team, which they direct on day-to-day operations. The teams go out into the communities to see what is working and what needs to be repaired. “As we move into stability operations and begin working the larger civil affairs projects, we’ve got to work within the population centers,” Barclay said. This means aligning the BCTs so they accomplish their civil affairs objectives. “We also have support teams aligned around functional areas; agriculture, medical, education, and commerce. We move them around to do assessments and give us direction of where we need to go,” he said. The teams focus on public safety, city government, water, sewage, and power sources. In many cases they have also provided guidance and resources to help re-open banks, schools and hospitals. Members of the 555th Combat Engineer Group restored water and electricity at the Tikrit Hospital and plan more repairs in the future. The engineers also repaired a water treatment plant and continue to work with locals to maintain it. The Task Force has also donated supplies to hospitals and fuel to run generators and they’ve rebuilt bridges and repaired roads damaged during the war. “In Tikrit, we have joint partrols with 1-22 Infantry and the MPs (Military Police) and local police force working together. We have several different levels of operations going on at the same time: patrolling in countryside, in towns,” Barclay said. The information the CA teams gather is relayed on to higher headquarters at V Corps and to the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA,) where a needs assessment is done, then projects are prioritized and funded. Jobs are created for local citizens who are hired on to do the work, which in turn helps stimulate the economy. “There are still lots of tasks to be done and a long way to go, but once a permissive (safe) environment is established, outside agencies and teams will come in and work with the Iraqis to rebuild the country,” Barclay said.

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