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3rd ID Moves In
By John
Richard S. Lowry
11 April, 2007
As late as January of this year, the members of the Third Infantry Division’s headquarters staff were planning on relieving the 25th Infantry Division headquarters as the command element of the Multi-National Division – North (MND-N). Then, the new Baghdad Security Plan was instituted and in mid February, General Richard Lynch learned that the 3rd Infantry Division headquarters would deploy in support of the surge of forces into Iraq. Lynch’s staff only had three weeks to prepare for their new mission.
By March 12th, the division’s advanced party was on the ground in Iraq with the remaining soldiers of the division headquarters arriving by 22 March. The “Dog Faced” soldiers of 3 Infantry Division officially assumed responsibility for their area of operations on 9 April.
Col. Michael Kershaw (right), the 2nd Brigade Combat Team “Commandos,” 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) commander, shakes the hand of Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch (center), the 3rd Infantry Division commanding general and the Multi-National Division – Central commander, as Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil Jr. (left), the commanding general of the Multi-National Division – Baghdad and 1st Cavalry Division commander, looks on. The two generals visited the Commando Brigade at Camp Striker, Iraq, March 30. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Angela McKinzie, 2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. (LI) Public Affairs)
Before the surge of forces, the 1st Cavalry Division headquarters was commanding the Multi-National Division-Baghdad (MND-B). Major General Joseph Fil Jr had responsibility for all the forces in Iraq’s capitol city, a city the size of Los Angeles with a population of more than 6 million. With the addition of several new brigades, it was painfully obvious that the 1st CAV HQ would need some assistance. A new command was established called the Multi-National Division-Central (MND-C) and this command was given responsibility for the brigades on Baghdad’s outskirts.1
Third ID took responsibility for a large perimeter around Baghdad, commanding the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) of the 10th Mountain Division and the 3rd BCT of 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Georgia. The deployment of the 2nd BCT of the 3rd Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, has also been accelerated. They will likely join the Task Force along with the 3rd Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade. The Combat Aviation Brigade and 2nd BCT will deploy within 45 days.2
Major General Lynch has decided to send Op-Ed pieces home to a local newspaper3 in Savannah, Georgia. In his first piece, he stated: “In the last few days, I’ve traveled to Ramadi, Yusifiyah, and Sadr City, among other places. These are communities that get a lot of media coverage when things go badly. But when shops are open, when children go to school, and when people of all sects are seen worshipping together peacefully, the cameras and microphones are elsewhere.”
He went on to say that it has only been ten months since he finished his last tour in Iraq. But, in his recent return he has already noticed real progress. “Baghdad has more lights in the night and electrical power seems to be more abundant.” “There are more stores open. Traffic is returning to the streets. Commercial airplanes are flying in and out of Baghdad International Airport. These are signs that the economy is improving.” That isn’t all. He added, “There are newspapers and television stations, radio stations and internet cafes. Iraqis are, for the first time in generations, exposed to the outside world.”
Most notably, “There are more Iraqi police and Iraqi soldiers. They are better equipped and trained than 10 months ago. They have courageous young leaders. Many of these Iraqi Security Forces are teamed with our 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers and a large portion of their security forces are actually operating independently under the control of their government. These are signs of progress.”
Even I was surprised at what General Lynch said later in his piece. “The insurgency is not popular here in spite of what you may have seen on TV. The criminal elements here battle every day with Iraqi security forces and they are recognized as extremists with outside sponsors. Al Qaeda in particular is feared and despised. It is trying to undermine the government and they want the world to believe that they are winning. But the opposite is true.”
He concluded with these words. “Yes, there is a long way to go. But I have learned that patience and optimism are absolutely essential. The insurgents will continue to launch spectacular attacks. Their goal is as much about destroying hope at home in America as it is about killing Iraqis.”
Remember, only about half of the “Surge” forces are deployed.
It is a new day in Iraq!
Richard S. Lowry is the award winning author of the best selling book, “Marines in the Garden of Eden,” Berkley, New York, 2006. He is an internationally recognized military historian and author. Richard served in the U.S. Navy Submarine Service from 1967-1975 and spent the time from 1975 to 2002 designing sophisticated integrated circuits for everything from aircraft avionics to home computers. Richard turned to serious writing after 9/11 and published “The Gulf War Chronicles,” iUniverse, New York, in 2002. He is currently working on his next book project. “The Surge” will tell of General Petraeus’ attempt to win the peace in Iraq. For more information on Richard and his work, visit www.marinesinthegardenofeden.com or www.gwchronicles.com.
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Comments
Interesting to hear a little about Rick Lynch. I served with him a long time ago when we were company grade officers. I'm glad to hear that another good officer is now leading troops over here.
Well, popularity of the insurgency depends on what part of the insurgency you're talking about and who you ask.
In my experience, the Mahdi Army was VERY popular among the Shi'ia. And they have American blood on their hands and I would consider them a part of the "insurgency".
"Insurgency" is just too broad a term to define the grand collection of political, religious, and criminal elements that make up the myriad of organizations who attack Americans or other Iraqis.
Some want us out. Others want us to stay. Some want to maintain the staus quo of chaos (reaps a profit for the more criminal elements).
To say the insurgency is unpopular is a very broad statement... and not necessarily all that accurate.
Joel,
That is why the new term is Anti-Iraqi Froces (AIF). I believe General Lynch was speaking of the insurgent forces in Anbar Province, who are primarily Al Qaeda.
http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/04/islamic_army_of_iraq.php
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Richard, I'm glad you touched on the unpopularity of the insurgency....one of the main reasons that Iraq should never be compared to Vietnam.
When I look for some shred of optimism....the fact that the Iraq people hate the insurgents' guts is at the top of my list.