The 1st Armored Division is the oldest and most prestigious armored division in the United States Army. From its desert tank battles against Field Marshall Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps, beach landing at Anzio to the end of the war in the Italian Alps. Maintaining a forward presence in the Cold War in Germany, its stunning victories in the Persian Gulf War to the Global War on Terrorism in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. In peace or war, the "Old Ironsides" Division has amassed a proud record of service to America. The current home of the Division is at Fort Bliss, Texas.
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The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Task Force (TF) 3-1 Armored Division (AD), deployed from Fort Bliss to eastern Afghanistan from 16 October 2011 to 15 July 2012. The brigade conducted combined, population-centric counterinsurgency operations in Logar, Wardak, and Bamyan provinces, relieving the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division. TF 3-1 AD consisted of the brigade headquarters, two infantry battalions, a cavalry squadron, an artillery battalion, a brigade support battalion, and a special troops battalion. The brigade also partnered with a Security Force Advisor Team (SFAT), a Georgia Nation Guard Agribusiness Development Team (ADT), three coalition Provincial Reconstruction Teams, Special Operations Forces, and numerous government agencies such as the US State Department. TF 3-1 AD and partners worked to secure Highway 1, a vital line of communication, neutralize insurgent and criminal networks, increase Afghan National Security Forces security primacy in order to expand the Kabul Security Zone and extend Government Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) influence among the Afghan people. The main effort for Regional Command-East (RC-E), TF 3-1 AD?s leadership, tactical expertise, and operational precision was vital[according to whom?] to securing and expand the Kabul security zone in these provinces.
In mid-October, TF 3-1 AD launched the brigade?s first operation, Operation Shamshir. Planned in support of a RC-East operation to disrupt insurgents from the Haqqani Network across eastern Afghanistan, the operation disrupted and dislodged insurgents from their entrenched positions and forced them into the open. The brigade?s partners, the 4th Brigade, 203rd Afghan National Army (ANA) Corps, worked shoulder-to-shoulder at all echelons through all phases of the operation. A total of fourteen villages in the Kherwar district were cleared and the operation concluded with a Shura, joining the ANA, TF 3-1 AD, and local leaders in Muchkel village, establishing the foundation of an outstanding working relationship between the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and TF 3-1 AD.
As the Afghan winter set in, TF 3-1 AD refused to cede the initiative, continuing to target insurgent supply caches, disrupt support zones, and expand the Afghan government?s authority. The brigade and their Afghan partners continued to push the enemy south, expanding the Kabul security zone, even as ANSF units assumed responsibility of the security of northern Wardak and Logar. As ANSF took the lead, TF 3-1 AD realigned its forces in March, transitioning the brigade?s cavalry squadron to assume responsibility of Laghman province. Further assisting the realignment across the RC-East area of operation (AO), TF 3-1 AD supported the arrival of TF 1-82 in southern Ghazni Province during Operation Ibex. This realignment postured the brigade to successfully engage the enemy upon the return of fighters from Pakistan in the spring. In early April, TF 3-1 AD, partnering with the 4/203rd ANA Brigade, Special Operations Forces, Afghan National Police (ANP), and other Afghan elements, planned and executed Operation Welcome Home, a brigade-level operation attacking the heart of the insurgency throughout Logar and Wardak. Executed over six days, a combined force cleared 12 objectives, removing insurgent leaders, fighters, and weapons from the battlefield and discouraging local citizens from joining or supporting the enemy. Most significantly, TF 3-1 AD?s ANSF partners led throughout the operation, proving their capabilities and the success of the brigade?s partnership efforts.
Following Operation Welcome Home, and based on intelligence gained form that operation, the brigade?s ANA partners launched Operation Maiwand, the first Kandak (battalion) level operation planned and executed without the brigade?s oversight. Continuing through April 15, the operation netted two enemy weapons caches, including seven rocket-propelled grenades, 12 land mines, six rifles, a machine gun, and ammunition. Operation Maiwand was a significant milestone for RC-East, TF 3-1 AD and the 4/203rd ANA Brigade, as the brigade?s partners demonstrated their ability to plan and execute complex missions involving ground and air movement to target multiples objectives.
On April 15, 2012, insurgents launched the opening salvoes of their spring offensive. Coordinated attacks targeting coalition and Afghan military bases and embassies were carried out in Kabul, Paktiya, Kunar, and Logar Provinces. In TF 3-1 AD?s AO, insurgents attacked the Pul-e-Alam Patrol Base, in the district center of the provincial capital. The enemy took firing positions in a nearby building and began shooting small arms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) at the patrol base. TF 3-1 AD and Afghan forces at the patrol base immediately reacted, and the brigade coordinated with their Afghan partners to neutralize by providing air weapons teams and close air support to defeat the enemy. In all, 11 insurgents were killed in action, while one US law enforcement professional (LEP) was killed, two US Soldiers wounded, and four Afghan service members were wounded. Most significantly, TF 3-1 AD?s Afghan partners had once again demonstrated the progress made since TF 3-1 AD?s arrival. With the brigade?s Afghan National Army partners consistently demonstrating their increasing capabilities, the brigade planned and resourced Operation Shamshir II. This operation was led by Afghan forces, which provided the majority of the troops involved. In the two-week period of May 6?20, troops from 1st, 3rd, and 6th Kandaks of the 4th Brigade, 203rd ANA Corps, disrupted insurgents in Kherwar, Jaghato, and Chak districts, and cleared weapons caches, thereby demonstrating to the local population their ability to provide security.
In May, the brigade undertook another major realignment of forces to posture their replacements, the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, and their ANA partners to further disrupt the enemy and secure the population. TF 1-13 Cavalry transitioned back into AO 3-1 AD, assuming responsibility for northern Logar Province. The brigade also planned and resourced the movement of two additional ANA Kandaks into the area, increasing ANA capabilities and overall security.
As Relief in Place (RIP) /Transition of Authority(TOA) and redeployment approached, TF 3-1 AD remained focused on its relentless pursuit of the enemy and developing partnership with the ANSF, enabling governance and development throughout Logar, Wardak, and Bamyan provinces. At the brigade?s core was a battle-hardened staff consisting of numerous sections, a team of teams, which enabled the brigade?s achievements through their professionalism, dedication, and outstanding mission support.
