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CALL Newsletter 04-13 Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) CAAT II Initial Impressions Report (IIR)

Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)
CAAT II Initial Impressions Report (IIR)

Chapter 3
Engineer

Summary

During OIF stability operations and support operations, units at all levels conducted operations that were not necessarily considered their primary missions. While U.S. forces were trying to "win the hearts and minds" of the Iraqi people, non-compliant forces were continuously observing U.S. forces to identify vulnerabilities. The enemy attacked those vulnerabilities at the time and place of his choosing. Units had to develop their battle skills in an "on-the-job" training mode to cope with the ever changing complexion of the battlefield. There were no safe zones for U.S. forces in Iraq. Every U.S. operation had to be planned, prepared, and executed as a combat operation. Units had to revisit every operation so that successes and lessons learned could become a part of the new script.

This chapter highlights the significant observations and lessons learned from current combat operations in OIF. While every area of operation was a balance between civil-military operations and combat operations, it is important to understand that combat arms, combat support (CS), and combat service support (CSS) units conducted combat operations daily. Due to the broad scope of missions, tempo of operations, and vast battle space, most of these combat operations were planned and executed at the company and platoon level. The observations and lessons learned in this chapter are intended to assist future deploying units to better understand the operational environment and facilitate pre-deployment training.

This chapter also addresses the issue of infrastructure repair/replacement. Commanders learned early on that Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP) funds could and would help "win the hearts and minds" of the Iraqi people. Commanders found that these funded projects helped develop community stability and increased the amount and validity of human intelligence received from the local population. This program did not evolve painlessly, but the benefits derived have absolutely saved lives and promoted improved relations with the Iraqi people.

Table of Contents

Chapter 2: Civil Military Operations - Civil Affairs

Chapter 3-Topic A: Mobility, Counter-Mobility, and Survivability