Eagle Assault takes lead for Aviation forces on Operation Iron Triangle

Photo By Master Sgt. Ryan Matson | Soldiers return to Forward Operating Base Remagen following the completion of Operation Iron Triangle May 11.  

05.22.2006

Story by Staff Sgt. Ryan Matson 

101st Combat Aviation Brigade

Sgt. Ryan Matson
101st Combat Aviation Brigade

Operation Iron Triangle, which boasted the second-largest initial Air Assault of the 101st Airborne Division's (Air Assault) deployment to Iraq, took place from May 9 to 11.

The operation focused on three objectives - Objective Murray, an island SW of the Muthana Chemical Complex, a safe haven for foreign fighters, Objective Angel, a set of farmhouses believed to be a terrorist training camp Southwest of Balad, and Objective Ling, a suspected terrorist meeting place centered within the Complex.

When the operation was complete, numerous High Value Targets had been questioned and detained, several small caches were uncovered, and material, computers, money and intelligence were also acquired. For the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, who supported infantry units from the 101st Airborne Division on the mission, 5th Battalion took the lead role on Operation Iron Triangle.

"The entire battalion played some role in this mission," Maj. Landy Dunham, 5th Battalion Operations Officer, who planned the aviation side of the mission, said. "Our HHC planned, briefed and tracked the operation, our assault companies, with the addition of 5 UH-60s (Blackhawk Helicopters) provided by B/1-207th (Icy) flew the mission, Company E set up a Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) here on Speicher to help facilitate the second turn of the mission, Company F, the battalion's Pathfinder Company was in charge of setting up and controlling both the heavy and light Pick-up Zones (PZs). And of course Company D, our maintenance company, played a huge part, with 22 Blackhawks flying at once in the mission. Everyone was involved."

Besides a huge Day One Air Assault, in which hundreds of Iraqi and U.S. Army Soldiers were Air Assaulted into the three objectives, Dunham said 11 follow-on Air Assaults were conducted during the mission, focused around the islands of Objective Murray, where most of the action took place, and where Soldiers needed to be lifted on and off. Dunham said 5th Battalion also provided an Aerial Reaction Force in the event additional troops were needed in a conflict. 5th Battalion alone logged a total of 157.1 flight hours over the three-day mission.

"The initial Air Assault was a little different this time," Dunham said, "This was one of the few missions we've done with multiple lifts and sling loads under night vision goggles. Our Tactical Operations Officer and lead planner, Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Hinkle and the aircrews did an excellent job with that."

Numerous High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) were sling loaded onto Chinook helicopters from 6th Battalion and transported to the three objective landing zones.

Both single and shotgun (two HMMWVs) sling loads were used on the mission. The loads were inspected by 5th Battalion's Pathfinder Company prior to the Assault. Dunham said the Pathfinders also provided security to refuel vehicles that were transported between Forward Operating Bases Speicher and Remagen prior to the mission.

While the Blackhawks and Chinooks transported Soldiers, vehicles and equipment to the objectives during Iron Triangle, two Apache helicopter weapons teams from 1st Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, were busy covering the North and South during the operation.

Chief Warrant Officer Shannon Stewart, Company C, 1st Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, is one of the pilots who flew on the mission in the Northern section of the Area of Operation. He said the Apaches provided Air Assault security during the operation, meaning they made sure everything was clear on the ground before the Soldiers were inserted.

Chief Warrant Officer David Peveto, an Apache pilot who co-piloted the mission with Chief Warrant Officer Michael Nelson, said the mission was similar in nature to Operation Swarmer, except that Swarmer covered a much larger area of ground. Peveto and Nelson were part of the weapons team that flew in the Southern section of the AO. Like the teams in the North, he said he sealed the area off, so nobody could enter it once ground forces were inserted, and no enemy forces could leave it. He added that Apaches are able to stop approaching suspicious vehicles easily from the air.

"With the intelligence we were able to obtain from this operation, the operation was definitely a success," Dunham said. "It was a lot like Operation Katrina (a previous Air Assault) in that respect." Lt. Col. Don Galli, commander of 5th Battalion, stated, "101 CAB is the force of choice for the TF Band of Brothers when it comes to speed, surprise and mobility on the battlefield."

• Date Taken: 05.22.2006
• Date Posted: 05.22.2006 10:48
• Story ID: 6454