Operation Iraqi Freedom

The 82d Airborne Division and its subordinate units were continuously deployed to the Iraqi Theater from February 2003 to May 2004. The initial units that deployed were the Headquarters, 2nd Brigade. The brigade was comprised of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 325th Infantry with its divisional slice attachments. It also included a core element from the Division Headquarters with the Commander Major General Charles Swannack. Their mission was to prepare for an airborne assault into Baghdad. However, the war moved faster than the plan and the 82d Airborne Division would not make the airborne assault, but they were given a new equally important mission.

The 2d Brigade was given the mission to secure As Samawah and the main road from An Nasiriyah to Karbala. The Brigade secured As Samawah after a tough battle with the Saddam Fedayeen and other Saddam loyalists. Once major combat operation ended, 2d Brigade was ready for new missions. The Division Headquarters went home and the 2d Brigade secured portions of Baghdad and Ar Ramadi. The Division Headquarters redeployed to Iraq as a whole with the 3rd Brigade in June 2003. They formed Task Force All-American. This Task Force included 1st and 3rd Battalion of the 505th Infantry and 1-504th Infantry. It also included elements of the 82d Aviation Brigade, 313th Military Intelligence Battalion, 319th Field Artillery, 82d Soldier Support Battalion, 307th Engineer Battalion, 82d Signal Battalion, 3rd Battalion of the 4th Air Defense Battalion and Division Support Command. The Task Force’s mission was to secure the western portion of Iraq from Baghdad, including Fallujah to the Syrian Border. The Division also commanded the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. These units did combat operations to deny Saddam loyalist and terrorist groups the ability to operate within the region. They conducted raids to seek out intelligence, capture enemy personnel, destroy and capture weapons caches. These caches contained small arms, rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), mortars, rockets, tons of ammunition, mines and material to construct improvised explosive devises.

Transition of Iraq

In addition to the combat missions, the 82d Airborne Division performed many civil-military missions in support of Coalition Provisional Authority. They included training elements of the Iraqi Police, Facilities Protection Service, Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and New Iraqi Army; and set the conditions for democracy by bringing peace and stability to the people of Iraq.

The 1st Brigade was ordered to Iraq in January 2004 to serve as a transition force between 1st Armored Division and the 81st Infantry Brigade until May 2004. The Brigade was comprised of 2d and 3rd Battalions, 504th Infantry and 2-505th Infantry and its divisional slice attachments.

82d Airborne Division units have continued to support the operations in Iraq through 2004 to 2008, with Battalion and Brigade Combat Team deployments varying in length from four to fifteen months.

The Battalion sized deployments have occurred with little notice and for specific missions. The initial deployments were for Iraqi Elections when the Central Command Commander decided he needed more forces to provide security for the election process. The 1-17d Cavalry deployed in support of the 2004 Iraqi National elections in northern and central Iraq, they provided combat security and surveillance. Additionally for the 2004 Elections the 2d Battalion, 325th Infantry and 3d Battalion, 504th Infantry both deployed.

These same units were recalled to Iraqi to provide a safe and secure environment for the 2005 Iraqi National Referendum and National Parliamentary Elections. The 2-325th Infantry was assigned an area near Tal Afar and facilitated the social, economic and political reconstruction of region, enabling peaceful and successful elections.  Task Force 3-504th Infantry was assigned the same mission in the Anbar Province Region.

Iraqi Governance

The 82d Airborne Division spent more than $40 million to fund 2,436 projects. Within Al Anbar Province, the division concentrated on generating energy, health care, education, water and sanitation. To help gain support in the unstable city of Al Fallujah, the division commander directed the purchase of water purification units and had the engineer units set them up in the city. Beside Elections, Battalions were sent to support full range operations. These include humanitarian assistance, presence patrols, raids and cordon and search operation. In October 2005, the 1-504th Infantry deployed to the Kurdish area, northern Iraq. They worked aside a multinational and inter-agency Task Force.

The 1-17th Cavalry, the 2d Brigade, 325th Infantry, and the 3d Brigade, 504th Infantry, were sent to Iraqi to provide safety and security during the 2005 Iraqi national referendum and national parliamentary elections. The 2d Brigade, 325th Infantry, was assigned an area near Tal Afar and facilitated the social, economic, and political reconstruction, enabling peaceful and successful elections. Task Force 3-504th Infantry was assigned the same mission in the Al Anbar Province region. The 1-17th Cavalry deployed to northern Iraq in January 2005 and supported aerial combat operations in that area.

In October 2005, the 1st Brigade, 504th Infantry, and the 82d Military Police Company, deployed to northern Iraq and worked alongside a multinational and interagency task force to establish a theater internment facility to hold up to 2,000 detainees.

National Resolution

The 82d Airborne Division also supported operations in Iraqi with Brigade Combat Team–sized deployments. These were the first deployment for the new modular Brigade Combat Teams composed of six battalions. In August 2006, the 82d Sustainment Brigade deployed to provide logistics support to combat units in Iraq. They provided command and control of logistics and support units from the Army Reserve and National Guard. The 3d Brigade Combat Team deployed to Diyala Province, where it conducted cordon-and-search operations to secure the Iraq-Iran border to prevent the flow of weapons into Iraq. It also took responsibility for Salah ad Din Province north of Baghdad. The mission was threefold: sustain and collaborate with the Iraqi security forces, with special emphasis on the police force; conduct counterinsurgency operations; and work with the State Department’s Provincial Reconstruction Team to improve the governance, rule of law, and the economy in the province. In July 2006, the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry, was sent into northwest Iraq near Lake Tar. At the same time, the 1st Battalion, 325th Infantry, deployed to conduct full range operation in support of an interagency task force to combat Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's network. Both units returned in December 2006. The 1-82d Aviation deployed to support attack operations with its Apache Helicopters; they were attached to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade.

The Surge

In January 2007, the 2d Brigade Combat Team, 82d Airborne Division was the first brigade deployed to support the “surge.” It supported operations in the city of Bagdad and its immediate surrounding areas. The plan began with a major operation to secure Baghdad. These operations focused on dismantling illegal support networks and capabilities that would allow the enemy to move personnel and weapons into the city and stage attacks. This effort has also proven successful in the killing or capture of key leaders and cell members who belong to extremist groups.

In addition, the 1st Brigade, deployed in July 2007 to provide theater security force in Iraq. The brigade was headquartered in Tallil in southern Iraq and conducted operations in and around Al Basrah for 14 months.

Iraqi Sovereignty

The forces deployed during this time assisted by training the Iraqi Security Forces to allow them to operate and secure their own government. The brigades assisted the U.S. State Department–led transition teams in building administrative capacity in provincial and local governments. In December 2008, the 3d Brigade Combat Team deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, and redeployed to Fort Bragg in November 2009. The 3d supported Iraqi police units that oversaw Iraqi election sites. In August 2009, the 1st Brigade Combat Team deployed once again to Iraq to Al Anbar Province and redeployed late July 2010. The 1st Brigade conducted operations to limit the ability of al-Zarqawi's network to operate.

New Dawn

In May 2011, the 2d Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq in support of Operation NEW DAWN. It was the last brigade combat team to pull out of Iraq and successfully relinquished responsibility of Al Anbar Province to the Iraqi government. The 2d Brigade returned home to Fort Bragg in December 2011.