Task Force Striker
Co A, B, C, D, E, & HHC 1-18 Inf; Co B 2-69 Arm; 72nd Eng Co; 197th MP Plt
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On 10 Aug 90 1st Bn, 18th Infantry was alerted to deploy with 24th Inf Div to Saudi Arabia on Operation Desert Shield. By 16 Aug, the fully combat uploaded vehicles had been railheaded to Savannah for shipment to the Port of Damman. On 21 Aug the Bn deployed to the Fort Stewart forward staging area for pre-deployment training. The main body deployed to Saudi Arabia on 31 Aug and occupied initial defensive positions to deter Iraqi aggression. The extensive training in the desert that continued through Dec 90 shifted from defensive to offensive operations as the situation developed.
On 17 Jan TF Striker moved to the Iraqi Border to secure the 24th ID Tactical Command Post (CP), Main CP & elements of Div Support Command. On 1 Feb Tm Bravo captured the 1st two prisoners of war in the 24th ID sector. Under the cover of darkness on 4 Feb, the Scout Platoon conducted a route recon of Combat Trail X-Ray 4 km into Iraq to confirm trafficability & enemy disposition. As darkness fell the next day, Tm Bravo extended the route recon 12 km across the border where they destroyed an anti-aircraft position. The Scouts remained 12 km inside Iraq to establish a screen line as Tm Bravo withdrew before first light.
On 23 Feb Task Force (TF) Striker assumed the security zone mission & Tm Delta crossed the Line of Departure (LD) to link up with the Scout Platoon 12 km inside Iraq. At 1500 24 Feb 91, TF Striker with TF 2-18 on her left flank crossed the LD and began the ground attack (Operation Desert Storm) to cut Iraqi lines of communication in the Euphrates River Valley and seal enemy forces in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations. By midnight the Vanguards had advance 136 km into Iraq without making enemy contact. At 0700 25 Feb, Tm Striker cleared Objective Brown destroying numerous vehicles & capturing 15 Iraqi soldiers. Turning east to secure Battle Position 105, the Vanguards seized a logistics site, 20 maintenance & electronics vans, and numerous prisoners. Tm Alpha 1-18 rejoined TF Striker for the attack through the Shamiya Desert to Attack Position Kelley in preparation for cutting the Highway 8 complex in the Euphrates Valley. Though the march speed was reduced by heavy rain, the TF was 231 km inside Iraq by nightfall. Shortly after midnight, a series of wadies (some over 50 feet deep) significantly slowed movement and threatened to separate the trains from the combat elements. The rest of the night and the morning of the 26th were spent recovering vehicles mired in mud, refueling and resting for the attack into the Euphrates River Valley. With the Scouts leading the way through sabkhas in a sandstorm with winds up to 35 knots and visability reduced to 25 meters, TF Striker led the attack into the Euphrates River Valley on the afternoon of 26 Feb. At 2200 the TF began taking fire and engaged what turned out to be the Headquarters of the 3rd Commando Regiment of the Republican Guards Force. Of the estimated 3000 men in the Regiment, the Vanguards captured over 1600 prisoners, including a general. Over 460 of them had been wounded and were treated by the medics. After the fight, Tm Alpha 1-18 joined TF Panther (2-69 Armor) and participated in the raid that destroyed Tallil Air Base. In 51 short hours, the Vanguards had attacked 360 km into the enemy's flank and rear, destroying the 3rd Special Forces Regiment and the enemy's will to fight an absolute success and standard for future mechanized warfare. With the Highway 8 complex cut & the 3rd Special Forces Regiment neutralized, the 24th ID turned east to continue the attack towards Basra. TF Striker was selected by the Division commander to defend the 24th's northern flank and rear from possible counterattack along Highway 8 from An Nassiriya. Consolidation and clearing operations continued until relieved in place by the 82d Airborne Division.
The official cease fire was announced at 1500 3 Mar 91 100 hours after the ground war began. The Vanguards spent the next ten days destroying Iraqi equipment & ammunition in sector and completing the recovery of all Bn vehicles and equipment in preparation for the 396 km road march to the Tapline Road in northern Saudi Arabia.
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