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2nd ANGLICO assists Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom

USMC News

Story Identification Number: 200342273652
Story by Staff Sgt. Daniel W. Jones

AL KUT, Iraq (Apr. 22, 2003) -- In every major conflict, close air support has proved vital to the accomplishment of a ground unit's mission. Coordinating this close air support for the Army's 3rd Infantry Division were the Marines of 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

2nd ANGLICO was chopped to the 3rd ID approximately 10 days before the ground campaign began, according to Capt. David Cooper, Supporting Arms Liaison Team officer in charge and Stone Mountain, Ga., native. Approximately 18 of their 46 Marines were assigned to the Army.

"Our mission was to augment the close air support liaison abilities with the Army," Cooper said.

Their mission was divided into three elements; close air support, to facilitate deconflicting fire cross boundaries and to assist with fire support, forward observing and target recognition.

According to Lt. Col. John M. Owens, 2d ANGLICO commanding officer and Starkville, Miss., native, they were responsible for 17 sections of aircraft including F-14s, F-18, A-10s and British GR-4s.

Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Brown, SALT chief and Detroit native, added that 2d ANGLICO had worked with the Army before.

"The most difficult thing was learning the Army's acronyms," Brown added. "They were set up like we (Marine Corps) were but they had different acronyms for everything."

Major Mark Jewell, Firepower Control Team leader and Louisville, Ky., native, also said that the Army took great care of the Marines.

"If they had it we got it," Jewell said. "They were a focused and professional group." 2d ANGLICO, which was stood up aboard ship enroute to Kuwait, did have some difficulties.

"Grabbing our equipment from ship and getting it ready was difficult," said Cooper. Once prepared, they joined the 3rd ID and moved toward Iraq. Their target ... Baghdad. 2d ANGLICO and the 3rd ID moved toward the capital.

"On the way into Baghdad, Iraqis were playing dead and when the convoys moved past them they would roll over, grab their weapons and start firing," Brown said.

He added that Iraqi soldiers would change into civilian clothes.

"There were a lot of uniforms and boots in the streets so it was difficult to tell the soldiers from civilians. We weren't going to hit civilians.

"We went into Baghdad with tanks and took several key intersections," he said. "We received a lot of gunfire."

"We had vehicles get hit," he said. "The Bradley Fighting Vehicles got hit but they did okay. We lost a tank that took an RPG round in the back."

"One soldier lost his life in our initial gun-run into Baghdad," Brown said remorsefully. During the fighting an Iraqi civilian got caught in the crossfire.

"He took a round in his arm," said Cooper. "We called in Medevac and a crowd gathered. We weren't sure of their intentions but when we loaded him on to the stretcher the crowd started chanting USA."

Once they crossed the Euphrates River it was a constant battle. They received direct and indirect fire until approximately April 12.

"They attacked us piecemeal," Cooper said. "Fortunately our Abrams and air assets destroyed them."

According to Brown, the Iraqis lacked the communications needed to be successful.

"By not attacking us in a coordinated effort we were able to roll through them," he said. With the Army now on the Western side of the Tigris River and the Marines on the Eastern side, communication became vital.

"We had very poor radio communication with the Marine units," Cooper said. "We could see enemy forces in the Marine sector but couldn't communicate, so we drove across a bridge and delivered Army crypto information which enables the Marines and Army to talk at the lower (unit) levels."

"We saved some lives by doing that," added Brown. "At times, the Marines were taking fire and they thought it was us.

At the Division team, Owens assisted with cross-boundary coordination, clearance of fires and liaison with Marine units with the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System.

AFATDS is a digital fires support system, which Owens used to link 3rd ID to Task Force Tarawa, 1st Marine Division, and I MEF, which resulted in a clear operational picture.

This was the first time 2d ANGLICO used the AFATDS in a real world contingency, they had used it at Fort Bragg, N.C. during Exercise Rolling Thunder, said Cooper.

On Apr. 7, the Brigade Combat Team went 'in force' to seize the city.

"It's as if we took their White House, Washington Monument, the Mall and the Pentagon all in the same day," said Cooper. "We took everything in the south part of the city."

According to Jewell, 2d ANGLICO received some real time intelligence that Ba'ath Party members were moving to a 25-story building.

"We called in for air support," he said. "British aircraft dropped two 1000-pound JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) bombs on the building along with Marine FA-18s firing 5 Maverick missiles."

"The building was destroyed," he said. "That was a really good hit." According to Cooper, this was a familiar scenario.

"We practiced for that last November," Cooper said. "We dropped JDAMs from Air Force B-52s at Hill Air Force Base. That training had a direct impact on the success of our mission in Baghdad."

According to Brown, Task Force 1-64 took over the Al Rashid Hotel in Baghdad.

"The hotel had a marble mural of President George Bush Sr. on the floor so that the Iraqis could wipe their feet on it," added Brown, who was responsible for the neutralization of an entire Iraqi mortar platoon with four JDAM missiles from Marine Corps F/A-18s. "The Task Force used pick axes to cut out the mural."

According to Jewell, the amount of damage inflicted as a direct result of 2d ANGLICO actions was very disproportionate considering the number of Marines they had.

2nd ANGLICO, which had 12 Marines with the Marine Expeditionary Units and 16 with the British forces, was spread throughout the region.

"All of our Marines participated in building clearings, patrols and observations posts," said Jewell. "Every single Marine was employed to the best of his ability."