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The Military occupation of Iraq: Brave rifles at Tall ‘Afar 1

rICArDo A. hErrErA

In March 2005, the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR), the Brave Rifles of Mexican
War fame, deployed from Fort Carson, Colorado, to Kuwait in preparation for operations
in northern Babil province, south of Baghdad, Iraq. Commanded by Col. H.R. McMaster,
it marked the regiment’s return to Iraq after previous service in Anbar province during
Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF)-I, from April 2003 through May 2004. For the
regiment’s second rotation, its mission was to conduct counterinsurgency and stability
operations in the southern sector of the capital city, including securing Main Supply Route
(MSR) TAMPA, Highway 1, running south to north from Kuwait through the Korada and
Dora districts to Baghdad International Airport, through Mosul, and on to the Turkish
border. 2
In preparation for the regiment’s return, Colonel McMaster instituted a training regime
that included an extensive reading list covering subjects ranging from history through
political science and anthropology as well as language training for selected Soldiers.
Mission essential requirements such as vehicle and weapons maintenance as well as
training and personal leaves competed for the scarce time available. Leaving Kuwait in
early April, the regiment began occupying its new positions in Iraq. For most of the
Mounted Riflemen, the stay south of Baghdad was a short one.
Just as the regiment’s 2d Squadron “unloaded its last containers in Muhmadiya,” Iraq,
it assumed a new mission as the lead element in the Brave Rifles’ relocation to western
Nineveh province, in northwestern Iraq. Lt. Col. Christopher M. Hickey, commanding
the squadron, received new and “unexpected” orders to conduct counterinsurgent and

1 This paper was originally published as “Brave Rifles at Tal ‘Afar, September 2005,” In Contact: Case
Studies from the Long War, vol. i, ed. William Glenn Robertson. Ft. leavenworth, Kans.: CSi Press, 2006,
125-54.
2 The 3d ACR was organized as the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen in 1846; it was redesignated as the 3d Cav-
alry in 1861. Redesignated as the 3d Cavalry Group in 1943, the regiment was finally designated as the 3d
Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1948. Department of the Army, Blood and Steel! The History, Customs, and
Traditions of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment (Fort Carson, Colo.: Office of Historical Programs, Third
Cavalry Museum, Fort Carson, CO, 2002), online at <http://www.carson.army.mil/UNITS/3RD%20ACR/
main%20pages/ 3d%20ACR%20History.pdf>, 61–62, accessed September 2006; The 3d Armored Cavalry
Regiment in Operation Iraqi Freedom-III, Headquarters, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, CO,
online at <http://www.carson.army.mil/UNITS/3RD%20ACR/main%20pages/docs/3d%20ACR%20in%20
OIF%20III%20-%20Media%20File.pdf>, accessed August 2006; Michael Simmering, Memorandum for
Record, 2/3 ACR Actions During Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF 04–06), 30 January 2006, 2; Lt. Col. Ross
Brown, 3/3 ACR Operations and Intelligence Briefing, 21 September 2006, School for Command Prepara-
tion, Fort Leavenworth, KS; Lt. Col. Gregory D. Reilly, interview by Operational Leadership Experiences
(OLE) Project Team, Combat Studies Institute, digital recording, 31 August 2006, Fort Leavenworth, KS
[digital recording stored on CD-ROM at Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, KS]; Regi-
mental Education: Brave Rifles Reading List for Operation Iraqi Freedom, 1 November 2004; 3d Squadron,
3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, Thunder Squadron, “Squadron After Action Review: OIF 04–06 January
2005–February 2006,” 4-8, 5-5, 6-6, 8-4–5.