Howie Kaluha
04-06-2006, 10:32 PM
Battlespace transfers
Battlespace in Samarra and Tikrit is now under the operational control of the Iraqis for the first time since the dissolution of the old-regime’s army.
First Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, took control of the Samarra and Tikrit battlespace from the U.S. Army’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division during an assumption of command ceremony at Forward Operating Base Danger April 3 in the Salah Ad Din Province.
Two of the Iraqi brigade’s five battalions now have their own operating areas in Tikrit and Samarra. The other three battalions are scheduled to assume areas in and around Bayji and Balad by this summer.
The Iraqi 1st Brigade now has the authority to delegate missions to its battalions, which before April 3, took directives from Coalition Forces.
“Today, the Iraqi forces are in the lead,” said Maj. Robert Bertrand, 3rd BCT Military Transition Team Leader. “They are planning the operations. They are gathering the intelligence that is driving the maneuvers. They are going out and seeking and attacking the insurgency.”
These forward operating bases provide secure installations from which Iraqi forces can operate. Other FOBs will be turned over to Iraqi forces later in the year.
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/Daily/Apr/060406.htm
Battlespace in Samarra and Tikrit is now under the operational control of the Iraqis for the first time since the dissolution of the old-regime’s army.
First Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, took control of the Samarra and Tikrit battlespace from the U.S. Army’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division during an assumption of command ceremony at Forward Operating Base Danger April 3 in the Salah Ad Din Province.
Two of the Iraqi brigade’s five battalions now have their own operating areas in Tikrit and Samarra. The other three battalions are scheduled to assume areas in and around Bayji and Balad by this summer.
The Iraqi 1st Brigade now has the authority to delegate missions to its battalions, which before April 3, took directives from Coalition Forces.
“Today, the Iraqi forces are in the lead,” said Maj. Robert Bertrand, 3rd BCT Military Transition Team Leader. “They are planning the operations. They are gathering the intelligence that is driving the maneuvers. They are going out and seeking and attacking the insurgency.”
These forward operating bases provide secure installations from which Iraqi forces can operate. Other FOBs will be turned over to Iraqi forces later in the year.
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/Daily/Apr/060406.htm