Force protection for Baghdad International Airport

FA Journal, Sept-Oct, 2003 by Kevin J. Podmore

This article is about 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized) Artillery (Div Arty) stability and support operations (SASO) at Baghdad International Airport from the end of major combat operations on 10 May 2003 until the Div Arty redeployed to Fort Stewart, Georgia, in August.

As we go to press, the level of conflict in Iraq has escalated into low-intensity conflict with units facing daily ambushes, infiltrations and deliberate attacks.

This article provides tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) for executing SASO in a more peaceful post-war, nation-building environment than exists in Iraq today.

Editor

After successfully attacking Saddam Hussein's regime, the 3d Div Arty transitioned immediately from high-intensity conflict to SASO. Consequently, FA units performed a variety of nontraditional missions. At the end of hostilities, the division headquarters tasked the Div Arty to plan and execute force protection for Baghdad International Airport. Soldiers in the Div Arty shifted their focus from destroying the enemy to protecting fellow soldiers.

The Area of Operations (AO). Baghdad International Airport, about 10 miles south of Baghdad, is Iraq's primary civilian hub for international flights. It has two runways. Passenger services continued up until three days before the beginning of hostilities in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). The city of Abu Gharyb (population of about 750,000) is located approximately one kilometer north of the airport.

Small farming villages flank the airfield to the west and south. East of the airport are a number of Special Republican Guards barracks and one of Saddam Hussein' s Presidential Palaces. Highway 10, which is a four-lane divided highway, leads directly from the airfield to downtown Baghdad and is the major avenue of approach for vehicle traffic entering and exiting the airport.

Task Organization. The Div Arty task organization for SASO consisted of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), Div Arty; 1st Battalion, 39th Field Artillery (1-39 FA) multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS); and 1st Battalion, 3d Air Defense Artillery (1-3 AD). Due to the change in its tactical mission, the division no longer needed MLRS or air defense. Both 1-39 FA and 1-3 AD were in unique positions as the security force for Baghdad International Airport with the Div Arty headquarters as the command and control node.

Employing these battalions for SASO had advantages and disadvantages. While 1-39 FA had ample personnel to perform its mission, it lacked the high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) and armored fighting vehicles to provide maximum protection at entry and exit control points (ECPs). Concurrently, 1-3 AD had an abundance of M6 Bradley Linebackers but lacked dismounted soldiers. To solve these problems, Div Arty cross-leveled personnel and vehicles to provide enough soldiers and armored vehicles at each ECP.

Before executing the force protection mission, the Div Arty established the Force Protection Operations Cell (FPOC) for Baghdad International Airport. The Div Arty mission was to command and control all airport force protection operations, coordinate with outside agencies for assistance and supplies, work in conjunction with the US Air Force security forces to secure the airport's two runways and interact with tenant units regarding force protection issues.

Also, the Div Arty found that a close working relationship with the airport's "Mayor's" Cell paid big dividends. The Mayor's Cell consisted of several Army and Air Force engineer units. Their tasks were to evaluate and rebuild the airport's infrastructure, restore utilities and coordinate space for units arriving at the airport.

The Div Arty began Baghdad International Airport force protection operations on 13 April by maiming the four ECPs and conducting roving patrols along the perimeter.

The Threat and Security Operations. Before the Div Arty assumed force protection responsibilities, the 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) with elements from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) had been securing Baghdad International Airport. Both units reported little activity along the perimeter besides sporadic gunfire in the distance. At first, the biggest threats to the Div Arty's mission were people looking for Food and looters operating at night.

The Div Arty's initial task was to familiarize itself with what was left of the airport perimeter. A 14-foot wall bordering one of Saddam Hussein's Presidential Palaces flanked the eastern portion of the airport. Despite minor damage, the eastern wall was structurally sound.

The western portion of the airport was extremely porous and more difficult to secure. The wall along that portion did not fare well during the war and offered little protection, if any, to units that eventually would move into the area. The Div Arty executed a strongpoint defense in this area and constructed battle positions with interlocking fields of fire to protect the western perimeter.

One critical task in developing the perimeter was to identify the location of future ECPs. The Div Arty had to consider where most military traffic would enter and exit as well as which roads civilians and contractors would be permitted access to when they eventually returned to Baghdad International Airport. The Div Arty decided on four ECPs: two ECPs for military traffic and two for civilian/contractor traffic.