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3rd ID drives toward assault on Baghdad

NAJAF, IRAQ (Army News Service, March 27, 2003) -- After a push deep into Iraq, the 3rd Infantry Division (Mech.) consolidated its forces northwest of Najaf March 25, about 60 miles from Baghdad, expecting a final assault on Republican Guard units ringing the capital.

In the battles that have ensued so far, the Marne Division has lost one soldier in combat, more than a dozen soldiers have been wounded by enemy fire and about two dozen have suffered non-hostile battle injuries. The division has taken about 500 enemy prisoners of war along the way.

Spc. Gregory P. Sanders, 19, was killed in action March 24. The Hobart, Ind., native was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, as an armor crewman.

"It's always hard when you lose a soldier. Our thoughts and prayers are with the soldier's family," said Maj. Gen. Buford C. Blount, 3rd Infantry Division commander. Identification of the injured soldiers is pending notification of family members.

"As I've said, this is hard business, it's tough business," said Brig. Gen. Lloyd Austin, assistant division commander, maneuver.

In the southern Iraqi towns of An Nasiriya and Samawa, soldiers and Marines have battled regular and guerilla-type forces dressed in civilian clothes who blend in with the local populace. Nevertheless, coalition forces continue to gain ground.

"We're going to have to fight around the cities much more than we wanted to", said Blount. "We're going to be able to isolate a couple of them, but I think we're going to have to go into a couple of them."

Blount praised the professionalism of the soldiers for their flexibility in fighting through stiffer-than-expected resistance.

"The soldiers are doing real well. They're focused on the mission and you can tell all the training they have gone through has paid off," he said.

"We've only fought the regular army forces to date and the Saddam Fedayeen, and Baathist Party militia," Austin said. "We've done a lot of fighting against those groups and we're doing well against them."

Blount noted that reliable intelligence reports say Saddam has integrated his Fedayeen into the regular forces to keep them from capitulating en masse and ensuring they fight.

"The next fight is probably going to be against one of his Republican Guard units, we'll see how well they fight. I expect these guys to fight a little bit harder. We'll be ready for that," Austin added.

Soldiers of 3rd Inf. Div. have known since November when 2nd Brigade Combat Team was in Kuwait conducting livefire and other training exercises that they could be at the tip of the spear.

"We're taking it to the enemy. Whenever we're faced with the enemy, we're destroying him," said Maj. Ross Coffman, division tactical command officer in charge. "We are taking everything he has and giving it back to him twenty-fold. The enemy doesn't stand a chance."

While in constant contact with enemy forces, the division has moved farther and faster than any division in recent history. Soldiers are continuing to maintain vehicles, personal weapons, and pushing food, fuel and personnel to forward troop areas.

"We've accomplished what couldn't be done 10 years ago - maintain - we moved continuously for almost 36 hours, maintained where everybody was, control of who's doing what and resourced the fight from our C2Vs as we were moving. That's an incredible capability," Austin said."The soldiers are taking care of each other, working hard and staying focused. This is the best trained division in the United States Army and they will get the job done - no matter what," he added.

The division traveled more than 200 miles in about 36 hours with troops engaging enemy forces along the way in the initial ground assault to disarm Iraq and change its leadership regime.

Almost immediately after a surgical cruise missile strike in Baghdad, coalition ground forces crossed the Kuwaiti border into Iraq, enroute to the objective - Baghdad.

Coalition ground forces breached the berm separating Kuwait and Iraq during the early morning hours of March 21, after a night time artillery barrage and attack helicopters pounded Iraqi observation posts just north of the border.

Advanced units immediately met resistance by Iraqi regular Army units which were quickly eliminated by direct fire from tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

The 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), with 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment out front swept across southern Iraq to its current position approximately 60 miles south of the Iraqi capital.

Although some units have encountered pockets of resistance from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regular army, they have managed to press the fight and keep going according to the operational plan.

"This is a lethal, lethal outfit," said Austin. "As of yet, we've had some early, good mechanized fights, and once again these soldiers have proven they can do in the fight exactly what they have done in training. They don't hesitate - they don't blink."

"I think the division has been extremely successful, thus far," said Coffman. "We've accomplished all of our goals and we've met every mission the Corps put before us. We've done it faster and more successfully than anyone could ever imagine."

"The division has outstanding maintenance, outstanding soldiers and the will to succeed," Coffman said.

Although the 3rd Inf. Div. is achieving success, they're not doing it alone, leaders said. The division is joined in the coalition by the Marines, Air Force, Navy and British soldiers. The division and Marine forces have exchanged liaison officers in the headquarters to ensure close coordination of ground forces.

The Marines are fighting the enemy to the division's right flank. They, too, have encountered some resistance from enemy troops.

"We're fighting alongside the Marines, they're maneuvering, we're maneuvering and we give them (the enemy) some problems from different directions," Austin said. "I'm kept abreast of what the Marines are doing everyday through liaison officers here in our headquarters. And I can actually see what the Marines are doing from my command and control vehicle."

The 15th Air Support Operations Squadron, the division's Air Force element, has experienced success in calling for close air support on enemy targets. "We've experienced lots of success up north with tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles. So far things have been going very, very well, said Lt. Col. Byron Risner, commander 15th ASOS.

"Our piece is to give the commanders the picture of the air war and provide them with the CAS they need. In the big Air Force picture, we're the piece that supports Army ground units," Risner added.

While the division is out front leading the fight, soldiers said support from home plays a vital role in everything they do on the battlefield.

"We appreciate the great support family members are providing," Austin said. They are wonderful people and we could not do this without your support. Know that your soldiers are doing very, very well."

(Editor's note: Master Sgt. Emma Krouser is NCOIC of the 3rd Inf. Div. Public Affairs Section.)