BRIEF

3BCT Redeploys to Iraq

A year ago this week Combat Films was present as elements of the 101st Airborne Division's (Air Assault) 3rd Brigade Combat Team(BCT), the Rakkasans, left Fort Campbell for their second tour of duty in Iraq. The 3rd BCT and its sister brigades in the 101st were the first of the army's "post-transformation" units to deploy to a combat zone, and its deployment to Iraq was therefore viewed with a certain anticipation by higher command and military observers. Expectations ran high among the troops of the 3rd BCT as well, who had recently seen an upswing in physical training and new, more aggressive mentality under brigade commander Mike Steele (who commanded a company of Rangers in the famous "Black Hawk Down" incident in Mogadishu, Somalia, in the early 1990s). Upon arrival in Iraq, the division assumed responsibility for four, and later six Iraqi provinces, with the primary mission of training Iraqi forces while simultaneously carrying out security and stabilization operations.

While the latter portion of the BCT's deployment was marred by the alleged killings of three Iraqi detainees by members of the unit, the BCT's accomplishments while overseas were nevertheless considerable. For example, the 3rd BCT, along with Iraqi forces, carried out the largest air assault operation since the invasion of Iraq in Operation Swarmer. When the division arrived, furthermore, there was not a single Iraqi battalion capable of taking the lead in counter-insurgency operations; there are now 33 Iraqi battalions with that capability. Additionally, the division played an important role in the development of new tactics and equipment for use in urban warfare, such as the M100 GREM (Grenade Rifle Entry Munition), a lightweight munition used with great success to breach doors and windows. The Rakkasans also carried out what became known as the "Rakkasan Armament Program," in which the unit doubled the armor on over 700 humvees. The up-armored vehicles have been credited with saving scores of lives, and will be passed on to the unit's successors as the 3rd BCT returns to the United States.

As an aside, Combat Films has a degree of shared history with the Rakkasans. In early 2002, and again in 2003, Combat Films personnel accompanied the Rakkasans into combat in Southeastern Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively.