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US Forces Order of Battle - 21 October

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  • US Forces Order of Battle - 21 October

    US Forces Order of Battle - 21 October

    This is a "best available" listing of US forces deployed to the Central Command AOR for Southwest Asia and for US forces deployed to European Command's locations in Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria. It does not include forces deployed exclusively for operations in Central Asia though it may at times list units that are involved in both Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.

    The task of developing a comprehensive listing of US forces present in the area is particularly difficult as forces have been known to rotate in and out of the region in response to heightened operational tempo or exercises. The events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the Global War on Terrorism has made such an effort significantly more difficult as the military seeks to improve operational security and to deceive potential enemies and the media, among others.

    Furthermore, the volume of troops moving in and out of the region will surely result in mistakes, misidentifications, or ignorance regarding specific units.

    Exluding forces deployed in direct support of Operation Enduring Freedom, there are probably about 156,000 military personnel in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, including about 350 aircraft of all types. The number of troops deployed in the area fluctuates on a daily basis as new forces surge into the region and some units begin to return to the United States. Of the 150,000 soldiers in the region, the National Guard Bureau on September 17, 2003 indicated that 29,000 are from the Army and Air National Guard and 50,000 from the reserves.

    Ground Forces in the region include a Patriot missile task force with two batteries deployed in Saudi Arabia and two in Kuwait. Virtually all of 101st Airborne Division, 4th Infantry Division, 1st Armored Division, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, and an element of the 82nd Airborne Division have been deployed to Iraq. There are a significant number of echelon above division support units in the region. It is believed that the total Army presence in the region is nearly 130,000 soldiers.

    The US Air Force's Expeditionary Air and Space Force (EAF) concept and organization sets a guideline for Air Force deployments to operational locations. The EAF is comprised of 10 Aerospace Expeditionary Forces (AEF) each with lead combat and support wings including on-call wings that could be deployed if required. Deployments for active duty units lasts roughly 90-days while Reserve and Guard units deploy typically for 30 - 60 days. In an effort to provide relief to pilots that had been deployed for prolonged periods of time the Air Force initiated a "Blue" rotation that would bring new assets to the region. It is not clear just how many airmen are deployed, though the number is likely to be around 10,000 with roughly 250 aircraft of all types.

    Naval units include a headquarters and shore-based units comprised of about 1,200 people at Manama in Bahrain.
    Nearly a thousand civilian mariners are associated with Military Sealift Command ships at Diego Garcia. During the 1990s overall Naval force personnel levels in the CENTCOM AOR typically varied between 8,000 and 15,000. Each Carrier Battle Group, with its associated Carrier Air Wing, has approximately 11,000 sailors embarked. As of 15 October 2003 there was one carrier strike group and one expeditionary strike group in the area for a total of around 16,000 naval personnel. These units included about 125 helicopters and aircraft. A total of about 154 Vertical Launch System cells are available for Tomahawk cruise missiles, which is roughly three times the average number typically deployed in recent years. Based on estimates of prior deployments, perhaps as many as 0 Tomahawks are actually deployed. The cruise missile force can be augmented significantly within days.

    As of 20 August 2003 a total of 27 countries, in addition to the United States, had contributed a total of approximately 21,700 troops to ongoing stability operations in Iraq. These 27 are Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, El Salvador, Estonia, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. In addition to the 27 countries with forces already on the ground in Iraq, four others (Moldova, the Philippines, Portugal, and Thailand) have committed to providing troops. Fourteen other countries are currently considering whether to provide forces for Iraq.

    Note: While this listing is dated, one should keep in mind that the page is often edited numerous times during a particular edition, sometimes daily. One should visit the page often to get the most up-to-date listing of the situation.

    Recent Developments

    Joint

    -Navy Newsstand identified Army and Navy explosive ordnance disposal units as operating under Special Operations Task Force 56, which is located in Bahrain though operations are taking place in Iraq.

    Army

    -A deployed soldier with the 234th Signal Battalion has brought it to our attention that his unit has been deployed to Southwest Asia since June 2003. The unit has been operating in Iraq under the 22nd Signal Brigade since July 2003 and is located near Balad. Roughly 600 soldiers fromt the unit are deployed.

    -According to a report from US Army Europe, two companies of the 565th Engineer Battalion recently returned to Germany following an eight-month deployment to Iraq.

    -The Army reported that the equipment for the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division began to be loaded on to USNS Shugart and USNS Sisler at Tacoma, Washington. It is believed that troops from the brigade will begin departing for Iraq sometime in early November.

    -The 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Battalion, a National Guard unit from Indiana returned to the United States on October 6-8, 2003.

    -A deployed soldier has corrected us on our listing for the 17th Field Artillery Brigade. According to this individual, the 5-3rd Field Artillery is based at Al Taji and the 1-12th Field Artillery, the 3-18th Field Artillery, and the 6-27th Field Artillery are based at LSA Anaconda.

    Navy

    -Navy Newsstand reported on October 20, 2003 that Helicopter Combat Support Special Sq 5 has been deployed to Southwest Asia since March 2003. The squadron is attached to SOCCENT and has roughly 75 sailors deployed.

    -The USS Enterprise and its Strike Group transited the Red Sea on or about October 14, 2003 according to the US Navy's "Status of the Navy". The Enterprise Strike Group is comprised of CG 58 Philippine Sea, CG-64 Gettysburg, D-13 Sarandi (Argentina) and AOE 4 Detroit. Carrier Air Wing 1 is also deployed with the Enterprise.

    -One might also notice that we have ceased to list the available Sealift and prepositioning vessels normally stationed in the region as these vessels have been notoriously difficult to track.

    Marine Corps

    -Yet more Marines have been identified by the Corps as having just returned to the United States, including 3rd Radio Battalion. Around 20 Marines from the unit returned to Hawaii on or about October 6, 2003 according to Marine Corps News on October 13, 2003. This is an extremely frustrating development as the Marine Corps has not been particularly forthcoming about its troop deployment in Iraq, and I MEF was supposed to have been out of Iraq completely several weeks ago. Furthermore, a Navy Newsstand article dated October 9, 2003 indicates that there is some engineer element of I MEF still operating in Iraq assisting with mass grave excavation.

    Air Force

    -The 167th Airlift Wing was identified as operating at al Udeid under the 379th AEW according to an Air Force photo release on October 17, 2003.

    -An Air Force photo released on October 14, 2003 indicates that the 101st Rescue Squadron is currently operating from Baghdad International Airport. It is not clear if this means that the 304th Rescue Squadron has returned to the United States.

    Coalition

    -The Turkish government is considering the deployment of a significant number of troops into Iraq to assist with peacekeeping efforts, though it is not clear exactly how many or which units would be deployed.





    http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...iraq_orbat.htm
    "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

  • #2
    LOL, that's almost half the Regular Army...

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