Task Force Tarawa

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Insignia of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade

Task Force Tarawa (TFT) was the name given to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. They were a Marine Air Ground Task Force commanded by Brigadier General Richard Natonski^[1] that was attached to the I Marine Expeditionary Force during the course of the invasion and were most notable for their participation in the heavy fighting in the city of An Nasiriyah and the rescue of U.S. Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch. During their time supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, the task force suffered 23 Marines killed in action.

1 Deployment
2 Operation Iraqi Freedom
3 Order of Battle
4 Notes
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Deployment

The 7,100 Marine and Sailors of TFT departed Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on January 15, 2003. They were transported on seven United States Navy ships that together formed Amphibious Task Force East (ATF East). The ships were the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), Saipan (LHA-2), Bataan (LHD-5), Ashland (LSD-48), Portland (LSD-37), Gunston Hall (LSD-44), and the Ponce (LPD-15). The ATF arrived in Kuwait on February 15, 2003 and quickly debarked their aircraft and ships then headed into the northern Kuwaiti desert.

The Task force’s equipment consisted of 81 aircraft, 26 Amphibious Assault Vehicles, 24 LAVs, 14 M1A1 Abrams tanks, and 18 M198 howitzers.

[edit] Operation Iraqi Freedom

TFT crossed into Iraq on March 21, 2003 with the missions of securing Jalibah Airfield and then securing the 3 bridges over the Euphrates River at An Nasiriyah to allow the 1st Marine Division to continue its attack north. From March 23 to March 29, 2003, Task Force Tarawa was engaged in heavy fighting in and around the city of An Nasiriyah as they came in contact with Saddam Hussein’s Fedayeen and members of the Iraqi 11th Infantry Division. TFT lost 18 Marines in the fighting and were involved in a friendly fire incident in which two A-10 Warthog aircraft killed a number of Marines in the unit by straffing.

During this time the original task force grew with the additions of the 15th and 24th Marine Expeditionary Units. The Marines of TFT were the first U.S. unit to come in contact with the remnants of the 507th Maintenance Company after they were ambushed and later on took part in the rescue of prisoner of war PFC Jessica Lynch.

After leaving An Nasiriyah, the Task Force was tasked with securing the highways to the rear of the 1st Marine Division and on April 3, 2003 they secured the town of Ad Diwaniyah. They continued to move and on April 7, pushed into Al Amarah and finally ended the invasion outside of Baghdad after conducting security and stabilization operations in Al Kut on April 11.

On May 14, 2003 Task Force Tarawa turned their Area of Operations over to the 1st Marine Division and retrograded back to Kuwait.