Document Page: First | Prev | Next | All | Image | This Release | Search
File: 970313_sep96_decls26_0004.txt
Subject = ANNUAL HISTORICAL REVIEW 3RD BN 502 INF
Folder Title = 2ND 502ND BRIEFING SLIDES
Parent Organization = XVIII CORPS
Unit = 101ST ID
Box ID = BX001611
File Cabinet = Week-48
File Room = sep96_classified
4.
new mission instructed Task Force 3-502 to fture one hundred and eighty miles
northeast to Forward Operations Base Viper. The task force was to help estab-
1;-sh Viper in order to execute raids and aviation attacks, encircle the Republican
Guard, and push towards Bahsra.
On February 27, the air assault began, and at the end of the day five hundred
and twenty-four soldiers were in position. By the end of the 28th, the entire task f--
was at Forward Operations Base Viper.
Early in the morning hours of the 28th, Second Brigade announced a possible
cease-fire over the radio and ordered a halt to all offensive operations. Over
the next forty-eight hours, soldiers could hear the muffled rumbles of far-away
battles and the tremendous explosions of engineers destroying captured enemy equip-
ir,ent. The thoughts of all the soldiers were focused on the return hoae. The task
force maintained its posture until March 3--d, although the tension was far reduced.
On March 3rd, late in the evening, the order came to move to Forward Operations
Base Cobra. The soldiers worked all night preparing for the move. The ground con-
voy left the morning of the fourth, while the air rxwwent was executed later in the
day. While still at the Pick-up Zol2e, the mission changed -- instead of going to
Forward Operations Base Cobra, the task force was to move to Tactical Assembly
A--ea Campbell. The battalion commander notified the convoy by radio, and they
diverted their route. By the end of the day, almost half the battalion was at
Tactical Assembly A--ea Campbell. At noon the next day, the convoy which had tra-
veled all night arrived.
One hundred infantrymen were selected from companies A, B, and C to return home
as a small brigade "task force.,' Or. the fifth and sixth of March, the three hun-
d--ed men showered and prepared to go home. On March 7th they flow from Rafha to
Dhahran, and on the Sth they were on their way back to the.United States. The
plane refueled in Belgium, and then at Bangor, Maine. The local population had a
reception waiting for the soldiers as they left the plane for a short break. On the
ninth of March, these three hundred soldiers arrived at Fort Campbell. After cleaning
and turning in their weapons, the men signed out on twenty-one days of leave.
Meanwhile, the rest of the battalion cleaned, packed, and showered. On March
12, the task force moved by ground convoy and C-130 aircraft to Camp Eagle 11. The
next day, the slice elements returned to their parent units, and Task Force 3-502
was a pure battalion once again.
On March 16th, fifteen seats became available on an aircraft. Eight soldiers fro',l
Headquarters Company and seven from Company D left that night for Fort Campbell.
Once at Camp Eagle II, the battalion prepared for a customs inspection by cleaning
every piece of equipment very carefully. Or. the @.@nty-fifth, Military Police and
Document Page: First | Prev | Next | All | Image | This Release | Search
Document 5 f:/Week-48/BX001611/2ND 502ND BRIEFING SLIDES/annual historical review 3rd bn 502 inf:03069709500827
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-48
Box ID = BX001611
Unit = 101ST ID
Parent Organization = XVIII CORPS
Folder Title = 2ND 502ND BRIEFING SLIDES
Folder Seq # = 195
Subject = ANNUAL HISTORICAL REVIEW 3RD BN 502 INF
Document Seq # = 2
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 06-MAR-1997