- Task Force Tripoli
Task Force Tripoli (TFT) was a
United States Marine Corps air ground task force formed after the fall ofBaghdad during the2003 invasion of Iraq . They were commanded by Brigadier General John Kelly, then Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Marine Division, and its mission was to continue the attack north and secure the city ofTikrit . [http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2003/04/13/story95283.asp "Marine task force heads towards Tikrit"] , "BreakingNews.ie",April 13 ,2003 ] The unit was task organized onApril 12 ,2003 in astaging area east of Baghdad and had secured Tikrit byApril 15 . It is the first time that the Marine Corps had ever employed an entire LAV regiment and marked the furthest inland that Marine Forces had ever pushed.The task force was made up of units from the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalions, [ [http://www.mfr.usmc.mil/4thMARDIV/23dMar/2dBn/CoG/ Welcome to Weapons Company G, 2dBn, 23d Marine Regiment ] ] , the 1st Marine Division jump Headquarters, Golf Company and a CAAT section from Weapons Company 2/23, 5/11, and the DASC (Fwd) that had been supporting the Division. On
April 13 , Task Force Marines rescued seven AmericanPrisoners of War inSamarra . [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A16971-2003Apr13?language=printer washingtonpost.com: Seven American POWs Are Rescued ] ] Five of the POWs were members of the507th Maintenance Company that had been ambushed early in the war in An Nasiriyah and the other two were captured Apache pilots [ [http://www.29palms.usmc.mil/fmf/3rdlar/Bn%20History.asp 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion ] ]Before securing the city, the Task Force destroyed five Iraqi tanks and killed at least 15 Iraqi soldiers on the outskirts of the town. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2943949.stm BBC NEWS | Middle East | US forces enter Tikrit ] ] The Marines of TFT began actively patrolling throughout the city of Tikrit and were relieved about a week later by the 4th Infantry Division
On
May 2 ,2003 the task force was reestablished and began preparations to move down to the Iraqi-Saudi border and set into a screen line to preventWahabi infiltrators from moving north into Iraq. OnMay 3 , each LAR battalion independently left the 1st Marine Division's assembly area inAl Diwaniyah and moved out to their individual staging areas. OnMay 4 , the task force occupied the screen line just north of the border. OnMay 5 , the task force was recalled due to a lack of activity on the border and proceeded to return toAl Diwaniyah .See also
*
List of United States Marine Corps battalions
*History of the United States Marine Corps Notes
References
Books
* Reynolds, Nicholas E. "Basrah, Baghdad and Beyond: The U.S. Marine Corps in the Second Iraq War". Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2005. ISBN 1-59114-717-4.
Web
* cite web
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first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = History
work = Light Armored Vehicle Training Company
publisher = United States Marine Corps
date =
url = http://www.cpp.usmc.mil/schools/soi/new/lav/lavhistory.htm
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doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-28
* cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = OIF 1 - February - October 2003
work =
publisher = United States Marine Corps
date =
url = http://www.cpp.usmc.mil/press/kit/OIFI.asp
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doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-28
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