Task Force 2-4 Cav -- First In, Last Out

Task Force 2-4 Cav -- First In, Last Out
Author: Joseph Barto III
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2018-12-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781387714421

February 1991, 6 hours before coalition forces initiated the ground assault into Iraq, one unit conducted a forward reconnaissance into unknown territory. Task Force 2-4 Cav, "First In-Last Out" The History of the 2nd Squadron, 4th Cavalry During Operation Desert Storm, 25th Anniversary Edition with a forward by Coach Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University Head Basketball Coach.

The Blackhorse in Vietnam

The Blackhorse in Vietnam
Author: Donald Snedeker
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 487
Release: 2020-04-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1504063511

This military history chronicles the combat operations of the Blackhorse Regiment, which paved the way for armored cavalry tactics in the Vietnam War. South Vietnam, September 1966. When the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment came ashore at Vung Tau, it faced a number of challenges. In addition to the threat of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, the terrain and weather posed their own dangers, adversely affecting the use of bulletproof vehicles and helicopters. The dearth of doctrine and tactics for the employment of armored cavalry in a counterinsurgency was equally challenging—especially during pre-deployment training and initial combat operations. But despite all this, the leaders of Blackhorse Regiment found a way to accomplish their mission. Within a year of their arrival in Vietnam, Blackhorse troopers overcame ambushes that featured anti-tank weapons, numerous landmines, and coordinated assaults. They not only defeated an enemy division twice their size, but also demonstrated how to succeed while operating on and off the roads, in the jungle, and during both the wet and dry seasons. By the spring of 1967, army leaders were beginning to realize the value of troops stationed in Vietnam. And with the Blackhorse Regiment leading the way, armor came to be considered an essential part of the combat team. Written by a Blackhorse veteran, this regiment history features firsthand accounts from soldiers who served in Vietnam and Cambodia.

The Road to Safwan

The Road to Safwan
Author: Stephen Alan Bourque
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2007
Genre: History
ISBN: 1574412329

The Road to Safwan is a complete history of the 1st Infantry Divisions cavalry unit fighting in Operation Desert Storm. Stephen A. Bourque and John W. Burdan III served in the 1st Infantry Bourque in Division Headquarters, Burdan as the Operations Officer of the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry. Based on extensive interviews and primary sources, Bourque and Burdan provide the most in-depth coverage to date of a battalion-level unit in the 1991 war, showing how the unit deployed, went into combat, and adapted to changing circumstances. The authors describe how the officers and men moved from the routine of cold war training to leading the Big Red One in battle through the Iraqi defenses and against the Iraqi Republican Guard. The 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry participated in the 1st Brigade attack on G-Day, the large tank battle for Objective Norfolk, the cutting of Basra Road, and the capture of Safwan Airfield, the site where General H. Norman Schwartzkopf conducted cease-fire negotiations with the Iraqis. The squadrons activities are placed squarely within the context of both division and corps activities, which illustrates the fog of war, the chain of command, and the uncertainty of information affecting command decisions. The Road to Safwan challenges the myth that technology won the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Contrary to popular view, it was a soldier's war not much different from previous conflicts in its general nature. What was different was the quality and intensity of the unit's training, which resulted, repeatedly, in successful engagements and objectives secured. It is the story of the people, not the machines, which ultimately led this squadron to the small town of Safwan.

Ghosts of Fallujah

Ghosts of Fallujah
Author: Coley D Tyler
Publisher:
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2018-09-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781947309043

A first person account of the Second Battalion, Seventh Cavalry's participation in the Second Battle of Fallujah, the largest single engagement of the Iraq War and the largest urban battle since Hue in 1968. A First Marine Division operation, it was spearheaded by one of the most famous Army units in history. Ghosts of Fallujah is a heartfelt and somber recount of the battle, the influence of history, personal leadership, and how that can change lives.

Task Force 2-4 Cav - First In, Last Out - The History Of The 2d Squadron, 4th Cavalry [Illustrated Edition]

Task Force 2-4 Cav - First In, Last Out - The History Of The 2d Squadron, 4th Cavalry [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Major Joseph C. Barto
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2015-11-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782899642

[Includes 5 tables, 10 maps and 20 photos] Wars have been studied from every viewpoint from the most abstract to the intensely personal. In the case of Major Joseph C. Barto’s Task Force 2-4 Cav-”First In, Last Out”: The History of the 2d Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, During Operation Desert Storm, war is viewed from the perspective of one man’s impression of a volatile, fluid battle. Re-creating his experiences in Operation Desert Storm from pieced together notes, an extensive journal, and a variety of other sources, Barto tells the story of TF 2-4 Cav. From his position as the squadron’s executive officer and officer in charge of its tactical operations center, Barto reports the planning and execution of his squadron as it advanced across the desert in pursuit of Iraqis. The end result of Barto’s reporting is a uniquely personal view of one man’s experience during a rapidly evolving operation. Barto’s exercise is not meant to be a polished analysis but rather provides students of military history with an inside view of the operations of a cavalry squadron on a dynamic, oftentimes uncertain, battlefield.

Search and Destroy

Search and Destroy
Author: Keith W. Nolan
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2010-07-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 1610600754

Using firsthand accounts from Vietnam soldiers, this book “tells it like it is, warts and all . . . [an] honest account of a cavalry squadron’s experience” (Military Review). The 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, of the 1st Armored Division deployed to Vietnam from Fort Hood, Texas, in August 1967. Search and Destroy covers the 1/1’s harrowing first year and a half of combat in the war’s toughest area of operations: I Corps. The book takes readers into the savage action at infamous places like Tam Ky, the Que Son Valley, the Pineapple Forest, Hill 34, and Cigar Island, chronicling General Westmoreland’s search-and-destroy war of attrition against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. Exploring the gray areas of guerrilla war, military historian Keith Nolan details moments of great compassion toward the Vietnamese, but also eruptions of My Lai-like violence, the grimmer aspects of the 1/1’s successes. Search and Destroy is a rare account of an exemplary fighting force in action, a dramatic close-up look at the Vietnam War. “Nolan’s research, his comprehension of the political as well as the military actions, his careful concern for those who were there, and, most of all, his writing, are superb.” —Stephen Ambrose

Field Manual FM 3-98 Reconnaissance and Security Operations July 2015

Field Manual FM 3-98 Reconnaissance and Security Operations July 2015
Author: United States Army
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2015-08-08
Genre:
ISBN: 9781516806997

This publication, Field Manual FM 3-98 Reconnaissance and Security Operations July 2015, provides doctrinal guidance and direction for Cavalry organizations, as well as reconnaissance and security organizations. This FM establishes the foundation for the development of tactics and procedures in subordinate doctrine publications. This publication applies across the range of military operations. While the main focus of this field manual is Cavalry formations within the units listed below, all maneuver formations must be able to conduct reconnaissance and security tasks. - Armored brigade combat team (ABCT) Cavalry squadron. - Infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) Cavalry squadron. - Stryker brigade combat team (SBCT) Cavalry squadron. - Battlefield surveillance brigade (BFSB) Cavalry squadron. - It is applicable to the- - Scout platoon of maneuver battalions. - Combat aviation brigade air squadron. The principal audiences for FM 3-98 are commanders, leaders, and staffs responsible for the planning, execution, or support of reconnaissance and security operations as well as instructors charged with teaching reconnaissance and security operations. Doctrine consists of fundamental principles that describe how to fight. At the tactical level, doctrine consists of authoritative principles concerning how to execute reconnaissance and security operations as part of Army and joint operations that require professional military judgment in their application. Importantly, our doctrine must describe how brigade combat teams (BCT) and subordinate units combine the capabilities of various arms into cohesive, combined arms, air-ground teams and provide a clear description of how to execute reconnaissance and security operations. This publication provides the commander and staff of Cavalry formations with doctrine relevant to Army and joint operations. This publication explains how effective reconnaissance and security operations generate depth, allow commanders reaction time and maneuver space, fight for information and collect information through stealth, protect against surprise, ease the forward movement of follow-on forces, and provide commanders with flexibility and adaptability. The doctrine described in this publication is applicable across unified land operations. The previous proponent manual for Cavalry Operations was FM 3-20.96, published 12 March 2010, which included operational considerations. This publication provides doctrinal guidance for all formations assigned to the ABCT, the IBCT, and SBCT. The following is a summary of each chapter in the manual: Chapter 1 addresses the role of Cavalry in unified land operations and Cavalry organizations. Chapter 2 discusses understanding the threat, potential threat groups and threat characteristics. Chapter 3 addresses the operational environment, shaping, engaging, and influencing outcomes, and consolidating gains. Chapter 4 highlights the updated concepts of mission command in relation to commander's reconnaissance and security guidance, the operations process and information collection. Chapter 5 begins with an overview, followed by a detailed discussion of the fundamentals of reconnaissance, forms of reconnaissance, and reconnaissance handover. Chapter 6 begins with an overview, followed with the fundamentals of security operations, counterreconnaissance, and the forms of security. Chapter 7 provides a short overview and then devotes a section to reconnaissance and security stability planning, stability principles and frameworks, and stability tasks. Chapter 8 describes sustainment for reconnaissance and security tasks, sustainment planning considerations for reconnaissance and security, sustainment considerations for reconnaissance and security and special sustainment consideration.

The Soviet Airborne Experience

The Soviet Airborne Experience
Author: David M. Glantz
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 232
Release: 1984
Genre: Government publications
ISBN: 1428915826

Contents: The Prewar Experience; Evolution of Airborne Forces During World War II; Operational Employment: Vyaz'ma, January-February 1942; Operational Employment: Vyaz'ma, February-June 1942; Operational Employment: On the Dnepr, September 1943; Tactical Employment; The Postwar Years.

Combat Squadrons of the Air Force; World War II.

Combat Squadrons of the Air Force; World War II.
Author: United States. USAF Historical Division
Publisher:
Total Pages: 856
Release: 1969
Genre: United States
ISBN:

This collection of squadron histories has been prepared by the USAF Historical Division to complement the Division's book, Air Force Combat Units of World War II. The 1,226 units covered by this volume are the combat (tactical) squadrons that were active between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. Each squadron is traced from its beginning through 5 March 1963, the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the 1st Aero (later Bombardment) Squadron, the first Army unit to be equipped with aircraft for tactical operations. For each squadron there is a statement of the official lineage and data on the unit's assignments, stations, aircraft and missiles, operations, service streamers, campaign participation, decorations, and emblem.