Task Force 402
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| Task Force 402 | |
|---|---|
 United States Army Special Operaions Command |
|
| Active | 2006-2007 (defunct) |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | U.S. Army |
| Type | Special Operations |
| Role | Utilized Skills to develop and implement Provincial Reconstruction Team, with security operations and tactics for DOS personnel |
| Part of | U.S. Army USSOCOM |
| Motto | EAD |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Captain Hans Bricks |
Task Force 402, AKA WhiteWater, was a classic example of the United States' 'Joint Task Force' concept of conducting special operations. It was organized under the concept of having United States Army Special Operations soldiers from the United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command[1], out of Fort Bragg, NC., with Department of State personnel, to create a Provincial Reconstruction Team.
TF402 was a unit created from highly skilled Infantry, Combat Engineers and Civil Affairs Military Occupational Skills (MOS). Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) soldiers were called back to active duty for such a special mission.
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[edit] Deployment
Upon completion of rigorous training at Fort Bragg, NC, the unit deployed to Baqubah, Iraq,[2] FOB Warhorse [3] in 2006. Missions also included the following bases: LSAA Aanaconda, FOB Paliwada, COB Speicher, FOB Cobra, International Zone, FOB Caldwell, FOB Normandy and many other smaller FOBs.
[edit] Operations
The task force is noted as operating in a highly autonomous fashion. In the only known operations which they conducted it is said that they conducted several missions with 20th Special Forces Group [4], in order to gather information from a local business possibly providing weapons and parts to create Improvised Explosive Devices that were catastrophic in the Diyala Province of Iraq.
The unit did not fall under operational control of the local unit at FOB Warhorse, but controlled by MultiNational Force Iraq (MNFI)[5]. This was a hard concept for some members of the unit who were from traditional units outside of USACAPOC and USASOC. Members had custom patches with an insignia design that was branded on one unit members arm. The call sign of Whitewater was created by two members of the unit as an alternative to the name Blackwater Worldwide.[6], in which instead of using armored vehicles, they would incorporate use of multiple Kawasaki Ninja ZX-9R to [7] to operate with and achieve mission goals, without taking any timed IEDs due to the high rate of traveling speed. That was easily aborted and ran as a joke, as it was intended to be.
Blackwater Worldwide was present during 2006 for operations, and instances occurred with joint missions, and their contract was not updated by DOS.
[edit] Missions and Achievements
- The unit conducted numerous civil military missions in which conferences were held throughout the province and missions up to Khanaquin , near the border of Iraq, first city in from Iran. Satellite telephone systems were installed among other digital forms of communications.
- All members of the unit were involved in at numerous incidents of direct enemy engagements throughout the year long deployment. All were awarded the Combat Action Badge [8] or Combat Infantry Badge[9].
- During the units time in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi [10], was killed. No information available if any action by the unit contributed to this.
- Events that occurred sometime during 2007, members of the units were awarded Army Commendation Medal w/ Valor for there actions upon contact with enemy forces, rumored to be over 20 miles from a coalition base.
- Ambassador Khalilzad [11], while visiting the local Civil Affairs company, is rumored to have presented members of TF402 with coins on behalf of the President George W. Bush of the United States.
[edit] Controversy
The units un-adopted motto, Excellence and Duty, came under scrutiny when an outsider to the unit lied about the meaning and caused unit members to come under legal fire and not allowed to leave Iraq. The selfish-ness of individuals not allowed to operate with TF402 members attributed to this falsification of documents. All charges and prosecution were dropped upon further review, and unit members were honored for their service to their country.
Attributing to the audacity of certain outsiders, was a failed Command structure from higher. Higher command wanted to be apart of something as elite as TF 402, but could not be due to rank/position, and not having a 'TYPE A'[12] Personality. Jealousy was a heavy weight on the shoulders of higher command, and ultimately tried to take down the unit members, but even failed at that attempt.
[edit] Post Deployment
Most unit members have returned to the United States and concentrated on living life without worry and constant jealousy. Some have moved to remote locations, such as the hills of Colorado to the sands of Puerto Rico. Most members are no longer affiliated with the United States Army Special Operations Command.
