Operation Iraqi Freedom [OIF]
Lessons Learned / After Action Reports

US Army

• Initial Impressions Report: Operations in Mosul, Iraq/Stryker Brigade Combat Team 1, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Center for Army Lessons Learned 21 Dec 2004 [PDF 412KB]

• CALL Newsletter No. 04-13: Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) CAAT II Initial Impressions Report (IIR) Center For Army Lessons Learned May 2004 [PDF Version 5.47 Mb]

• On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom Center for Army Lessons Learned 26 May 2004 -- "On Point is a study of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF) as soon after the fact as feasible. The Army leadership chartered this effort in a message to the major commands on 30 April 2003. In his guidance, Army Chief of Staff General Eric K. Shinseki directed "a quick, thorough review that looks at the US Army's performance, assesses the role it played in the joint and coalition team, and captures the strategic, operational, and tactical lessons that should be disseminated and applied in future fights.""

• Iraq and the Future of Warfare Iraq and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy US Army War College October 21, 2003 -- Slides used in testimony before the House Committee on Armed Services [PDF 1.3MB]

• Operation Iraqi Freedom Engineer Lessons Learned [Initial Draft] US Army Engineer School 15 Nov 2003 -- "The enclosed report is the culmination of the US Army Engineer School's effort to collect observations from Operations Iraqi Freedom and provide them to the Total Engineer Force-active, reserve, and civilian. This report is published to provide the reader with observations related to engineer issues that arose during Operation Iraqi Freedom from deployment through the end of Phase III. (..) This report covers four of the five engineer battlefield functions performed by Engineers: Mobility, Survivability, Geospatial, and General Engineering. Also covered are the Battlefield Operating Systems of Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), as well as Engineer Equipment." [MSWord 161 Kb]

• MOBSTA LESSONS LEARNED US Army November 2003 [MSWord 43 KB]

• III CORPS ARTILLERY III Corps, US Army November 2003 [PDF 2.89 MB]

• Third Infantry Division (Mechanized) After Action Report Operation Iraqi Freedom US Army July 2003 [PDF 1.03 Mb]

• Fires in the Close Fight: OIF Lessons Learned US Army, 3rd Infantry Division DIVARTY November 2003 [PDF 1.7 MB]

• 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Operation Iraqi Freedom Safety Lessons Learned 101st ABN DiV, US Army September 2003 [Powerpoint 1.96 MB]

• 32nd AAMDC: Operation Iraqi Freedom 32^nd AAMDC, US Army September 2003 -- Patriot Missile Defense Operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom [Powerpoint 13.5 MB]

• Initial Lessons Learned US Army, Air Defense Artillery Quality Assurance Office September 2003 [MSPowerpoint 523 Kb]

• Information Paper: Operation Iraqi Freedom Fort Bliss, US Army 19 Sep 2003 -- Purpose. To provide the command with information concerning the performance of AMD weapon systems, interoperability, training issues, and procedures during Operation Iraqi Freedom. [MSWord 43 Kb]

• 1st Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery, Operation Iraqi Freedom Lessons Learned 1-3 ADA, US Army 28 October 2003 [Powerpoint 7.13 MB]

• Joint Operational Fires Joint Operational Fires: A 1st BCD Perspective from Operation Iraqi Freedom 1st BCD, US Army October2003 -- Purpose Purpose: Provide unclassified insights into the good and bad of joint operational fires during OIF (MCO) from 1st BCD perspective, Identify lessons learned for the Army and Joint fires community [PDF 3.52 MB]

• Abrams Tank Systems: Lessons Learned Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003 U.S. ARMY TACOM June 2003 -- "This briefing captures some of the key equipment performance issues and lessons learned as interpreted by PM Abram's personnel deployed forward with the Divisions during Operation Iraqi Freedom" [MS Powerpoint 1.9 Mb]

• Operation Iraqi Freedom PEO Soldier Lessons Learned US Army 15 May 2003 -- "The following is a gathering of lessons learned on items of equipment either within the PEO Soldier domain or closely related to current or planned PEO programs." [MSWord 1.56 Mb]

US Marine Corps

• Marine Corps Reserve Forces In Operation Iraqi Freedom: Lessons Learned Final Report Marine Corps Combat Development Center: Expeditionary Force Combat Assessment Team 20 May 2004 -- "Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) provided a rare opportunity to understand what works and what does not work in real conflict. To take advantage of this opportunity for learning, the Commandant created a Combat Assessment Team. Its mission was to systematically collect and objectively analyze combat data on critical warfighting issues. Because reserve forces played such a large role in this operation, the Reserve Affairs (RA) department at Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC), Manpower and Reserve Affairs (M&RA), created a reserve forces team to operate as an element of the overall combat assessment team to analyze reserve issues in depth." [PDF 1.27 MB]
• Marine Corps Reserve Forces In Operation Iraqi Freedom Lessons Learned Draft Report Marine Corps Combat Development Center November 2003 -- "Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) provided a rare opportunity to understand what works and what does not work in real conflict. To take advantage of this opportunity for learning, the Commandant created a Combat Assessment Team. Its mission was to systematically collect and objectively analyze combat data on critical warfighting issues. Because reserve forces played such a large role in this operation, the Reserve Affairs (RA) department at Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC), Manpower and Reserve Affairs (M&RA), created a reserve forces team to operate as an element of the overall combat assessment team to analyze reserve issues in depth." [PDF 1.42 MB]

• Brief on 1 MARDIV Observations 1st Marine Division May 2003 [MSWord 29 Kb]

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Lessons Learned 1st Marine Division May 2003 [MSWord 269 Kb]

• Field Report: Marine Corps Systems Command Liaison Team, Central Iraq USMC 20-25 April 2003 [MSWord 110 Kb]

• Fort Irwin National Training Center Trip Report United States Marine Corps, Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38 December 2003 - To collect U.S. Army lessons learned from Iraq and obtain tactics, techniques, and procedures for organizing and protecting convoys, detecting and neutralizing IEDs, organizing and defending Forward Operating Bases (FOB)/Forward Arming & Refueling Points (FARP), and defending against mortar, rocket, and suicide bombers (human and VBIED). A by-product of the visit was an opportunity to observe an Army unit (1st BCT, 1st Cavalry Div) training to deploy to Iraq. Training observed; foot patrols in simulated urban terrain, convoys, cordon and search operations, a Special Ops Task Force raid on a suspected WMD site and a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) rescue of a compromised Special Ops Task Force, crowd control, political rally security, and election registration oversight and security. [MSWord 146 Kb]

• Insight from a USMC First Sergeant on the War in Iraq US Army May 2003 -- "This series of emails between an officer and one of his former NCO is long read, but it captures a First Sergeant's perspective on taking (and taking care of) young Marines into combat, and is the essence of superb NCO leadership." [MSWord 45 KB]

US Air Force

• Operation Iraqi Freedom - By the Numbers USCENTAF 30 April 2003 -- "To establish a single source of aggregated facts about Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) from the Combined Forces Air Component Commander's (CFACC) perspective. This [Unclassified] report is based on information collected during operations at the Combined Air Operations Center, Prince Sultan Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Additional reach-back support elements contributed to refinement of the data and tracking. We have consolidated numerous sources of information, cross-referencing each to select a single set of usable numbers. While our goal was to select the actual number wherever possible, in some cases the "best" number available from the most credible source was selected." [PDF 432 Kb]

US Navy

• OIF Lessons Learned & Fleet Quick Hits COMPACFLT N4, US Navy August 2003 [Powerpoint 1.46 MB]

Joint / Department of Defense

• CALL Newsletter: Operation OUTREACH Center for Army Lessons Learned OCT 03, No. 03-27 -- "This newsletter represents the efforts of two teams from the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) that deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as part of Operation OUTREACH. (...) The team found many items to cover, but mainly focused on intelligence- and fire support-related issues: Intelligence (General), Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Operations, Targeting (aspects from both intelligence and fire support), Fire Support, and Random Observations. Following is a compilation of their observations." [PDF 592 Kb]

• Transcript: Briefing on Joint Lessons Learned from Operation Iraqi Freedom 03 Oct 2003 -- Participating were Lawrence Di Rita, acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, and Army Brig. Gen. Robert W. Cone, director, Joint Center for Lessons Learned, U.S. Joint Forces Command.

Australian Department of Defence

• The War in Iraq: ADF Operations In The Middle East In 2003 Australian Department of Defence 23 Feb 2004 -- "Iraq's refusal to comply with United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions to give up its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and prohibited long-range missile programs, its record of supporting terrorism and its use of WMD against Iran drove the international community to action. (...) During the brief period of major combat operations, Australia's forces operated over a wide area as part of a Coalition with US and United Kingdom (UK) forces." [PDF 1.91 Mb]

UK Ministry of Defence

• Operations in Iraq: Lessons for the Future UK Ministry of Defence December 2003 -- "Earlier this year, some 46,000 UK Servicemen and women joined a US-led coalition military operations against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. The campaign began on 20 and by 1 May President Bush had declared the end of major combat operations, although the regime had been removed and most of Iraq taken under coalition control after just weeks. The background to the conflict, and the planning, deployment and combat phases the operation, together with some early lessons identified, were described in the Ministry Defence (MOD) report "Operations in Iraq First Reflections" 2 (hereafter referred to as First Reflections). This report provides a deeper analysis of the lessons we have drawn operation, together with a more detailed insight into particular combat missions, and describes the continuing coalition operation to bring stability and regeneration to Iraq since the end combat phase."
• OPERATIONS IN IRAQ - First Reflections UK Ministry of Defence July 2003 -- "On 20 March 2003 a US-led coalition, with a substantial contribution from UK forces, began military operations against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. Just 4 weeks later, the regime was removed and most of Iraq was under coalition control. (...) We have already begun a thorough examination of all aspects of the operation - not just the parts that went well, but also the things we could have done better. This analysis will take time, and we will publish a full report in due course. The aim of this report is to set out an account of the operation to date, and provide some early indicators of lessons for the future."

Other

• An Informed Guess About Why Patriot Fired Upon Friendly Aircraft and Saw Numerous False Missile Targets During Operation Iraqi Freedom + Appendices 1-2 By Theodore A. Postol Professor of Science, Technology, and National Security Policy Security Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 20 Apr 2004 [PDF 3.1 Mb]
• Appendices 3-4 By Theodore A. Postol Professor of Science, Technology, and National Security Policy Security Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 20 Apr 2004 [PDF 2.72 Mb]