Operation Iraqi Freedom
1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment was relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division and assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division on 16 November 2005.
On 5 August 2006 3–7 FA deployed from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii to the Province of Kirkuk in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Not only did they conduct a traditional counter-fire mission, 3–7 FA also set themselves apart as a maneuver taskforce conducting infantry-type missions. The use of 3–7 FA as a maneuver asset instead of a direct support field artillery battalion was a result of the implementation of the Counter Insurgency (COIN) doctrine in Iraq. The method of removing the insurgency and strengthening the government could not be done solely through the use of indirect fires, but also with platoon sized maneuver elements and partnerships with local leaders and influencers. The primary spheres of influence during this deployment included local, provincial, and regional governmental leaders, Iraqi Police, and Iraqi Army Strategic Infrastructure Brigades that guarded the nation's crude oil pipelines. On 15 October 2007, 3–7 FA returned from Iraq to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and was again awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation. They spent the next year conducting a refit and training in preparation for their return to Northern Iraq.
On 16 October 2008, 3–7 FA deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF 09-11) to Salah Ad Din Province in Iraq. Operating out of Contingency Operating Base (COB) Speicher, they were responsible for over 4600 square kilometers in and around Tikrit, the provincial capital of Salah Ad Din. From October 2008 to October 2009 they broke from their traditional artillery role and supported the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team as a maneuver element partnering with Iraqi Security Forces and the Iraqi Government to strengthen security and build civil capacity improving the quality of life for the people of the Tikrit Qada (District).
Read more about this topic: 7th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
Famous quotes containing the words operation, iraqi and/or freedom:
“It is critical vision alone which can mitigate the unimpeded operation of the automatic.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)
“I will cut the head off my baby and swallow it if it will make Bush lose.”
—Zainab Ismael, Iraqi housewife. As quoted in Newsweek magazine, p. 31 (November 16, 1992)
“Can a free people restrain crime without sacrificing fundamental liberties and a heritage of compassion?... Let us show that we can temper together those opposite elements of liberty and restraint into one consistent whole. Let us set an example for the world of a law-abiding America glorying in its freedom as well as its respect for law.”
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)