The story of 1st Squad, 3d Platoon, Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Calvary, 1st Brigade, 3rd Armored Division (SPEARHEAD) during Operation Desert Shield, 1990

 

This was one of many Infantry squads that served during Operation Desert Storm (ODS).   As a part of the 3rd Armored Division's (SPEARHEAD) 1st Brigade / Ready First Combat Team, we were stationed at Ayers Kaserne (The Rock)  in Kirchgoens, Germany.  The United States Army's V Corps was in position north of Frankfurt to deter the Soviet Union / Warsaw Pact, from invading Western Europe through a terrain feature known as the Fulda Gap.  This gap was like a tactical HOV lane into the heart of Germany.


L to R:  SPC Alejandro, SPC Dempsey, PFC Wardman, PFC Reid, SSG Westlake, CPL Williams, PVT Rosado, PVT Williams and PFC Zappone

The squad had trained together for almost 2 years, with little turnover, prior to ODS.  This allowed us to become a very cohesive, proficient, combat-capable unit.  We had conducted quite a bit of Infantry training together in Germany, attending the prestigious Platoon Confidence Training (PCT) at Bad Tölz; Military Operations in Urban Terrain  (MOUT) training at Doughboy City, Berlin; the annual 3rd Armored Division Ranger Camp;  the Combined Arms Maneuver Training Center in Hohenfels; and live fire training at Grafenwoehr.  Soldiers of the 3rd Armored Division typically trained in the field for over 200 days of the year.  We were very capable at executing raids, recons and ambushes, and had always met the standard during Squad ARTEPS.  Although no one was RANGER qualified, we trained to RANGER standards.  All squad members were experts with their weapons, and some had been awarded the Expert Infantry Badge.  

Mechanized Infantry soldiers have a military occupational specialty of 11M, meaning that they have received additional training on the M-2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV).  3rd Platoon, as well as the others in the company, was always understrength.  Although authorized two nine-man squads, we generally consolidated what we had into one element, manning priority weapons first.  Once we received the word in November of 1990 that we would be deploying from Germany to Saudi Arabia, we were plussed up to 100% TO&E with a new squad leader who came from the Berlin Brigade, which was standing down, and Infantrymen from the 8th ID, which was also standing down.  My new soldiers were 11B's, from 5-8 Infantry, Mainz, FRG, who had not yet transitioned to the BFV.  They had been using the M113 APC.  These men were highly motivated and quickly integrated into the squad and platoon.  They were then given a crash course on how load ammo and missiles, and fire the port weapons, for the BFV's.  

A squad is broken down into two fire teams - Fire Team Alpha and Fire Team Bravo.  Each team has a team leader, normally a sergeant or a corporal, and each team member has a specific duty position within the team.

Here is how the "Fighting First" was broken down...

Weapons:

Myself and the two team leaders were armed with a M16A2 with an M203 40 mm grenade launcher bolted underneath it.  These provided direct and indirect fire capability to the squad, allowing the leaders to mark targets with smoke rounds or tracers for the squad to mass fires on.  Each leader carried high explosive and smoke grenades.

The automatic riflemen were issued the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW).  The SAW is a light machinegun which fires the same size round as the M16 (5.56mm).  Each SAW gunner was issued 600 rounds of belted ammo in 3 plastic drums- one fitted to the gun, and each of the others strapped to their thighs to allow quick change.  These weapons provided the most firepower to the squad.

The riflemen carried an M16A2, with 120 (+) rounds of 5.56 ammo.  The riflemen also carried additional ammo for the SAW's and the M203's, hand grenades, and mines.  They were my designated marksmen.

Unique to Bradley units was the M231 Firing Port Weapon.  This is a submachine gun version of the M16, which fires fully automatic only, and has a rate of fire of about 1200 rounds per minute. Each vehicle deployed with 2 of these (authorized 6). It is designed to be screwed through the wall of a BFV and fired through a port by looking out of a periscope (vision block).  Each one having a brass catcher and a gas exhaust fan to expel toxic weapons gases outside the vehicle.   They fired pure tracer, so the gunner could use “burst on target”/ BOT firing technique.  I fabricated a harness out of my rubber pants suspenders and carried one under my armpit, which augmented my M16/M203.

Rockets and missiles:    M136 84 mm AT4 anti-tank rockets, which were an improvement over the old 77mm M72A2 Light anti-tank weapon LAW.   We also had M47 Dragon - a 90mm wire-guided anti-tank missile, with day and night (thermal) sights.

High Explosive Hand Grenades, Tear Gas Grenades, and Thermite Grenades, as well as Claymore Anti-personnel Mines, and "Toe-poppers" little plastic mines designed to --- were also issued.  

Each soldier was issued the M-9 Bayonet.  This was the latest model, which was pretty heavy duty, and when connected with its scabbard could be used as a wire cutter.

As you can see, a Mech Infantry squad is heavily armed.  This provided an overwhelming advantage to the squad and platoon, compared to Airborne or Light Infantry.  The organic firepower, combined with the speed and protection of the four Bradleys, provided unsurpassed lethality.

The mission of the Infantry is to close with, and destroy enemy forces by means of fire and maneuver, and to repel his counterattacks, using hand-to-hand combat if necessary. 

Other Equipment:

Personnel protection:   Kevlar helmet and vest, although not bulletproof, would protect the soldier from shrapnel.  Our load-bearing equipment was worn over this.

Night Vision:   Night observation device (NOD).  Either the AN/PVS-5 or the newer AN/PVS-7B Night Vision Goggles (NVG's) and AN/PVS-4's for the weapons, as well as a thermal sight for the Dragon.  Between these and the BFV's thermal vision, we owned the night.

Protection from deadly chemical agents:   M17A1 Chemical Protective Mask, 2 charcoal impregnated Chemical Protective Over Garments with rubber boots and gloves, Chemical Detection Kits, Nerve Agent Antidote Kits, and Chemical decontamination Kits.  Radiation dosimeters were located at the company level, along with special body bags designed to contain any chemical contamination.

Communications:  I carried a PRC-77 Radio/Transmitter, to be able to communicate with the BFV's and the other squad.  Within the squad we used voice and hand and arm signals to communicate.

I volunteered for the Company Advance Party.  I was recently divorced.  Most of the NCO’s had families.  SGT Ivey, my senior Team Leader, stepped up to prepare the squad for deployment.  Myself and two soldiers from the other 2 platoons joined the Battalion Advance Party, nicknamed the "Dirty Thirty".  We flew out of Frankfurt on a civilian airliner, andarrived in Damam, Saudi Arabia December 16th.  We were housed in a camp called Cement City.  Major Lough, our Officer in Charge and Battalion S-3, organized a Christmas party for us.   We stayed there 2 weeks, then moved out to the open desert in the North, to prepare for the arrival of the rest of the Battalion.

NORTH TO THE TAA:  We rode on commuter buses up Tapline Road, to the Northern Saudi desert.  It was New Year’s Eve.  I happened to find a six pack of near beer (no alcohol allowed in that country).  Lieutenant Murray, the Battalion Scout Platoon Leader and I proposed a toast to what lay ahead.  He would later be awarded the Silver Star.

Part of our daily routine was Stand-to.  This is a morning ritual our unit conducted every day once we moved out into the desert.  Stand-to started one half hour before sunrise, and ended one half hour after sunrise.  This goes back to earlier wars, a popular time to attack. Every soldier was expected to be packed up, in his fighting position, scanning his sector.  I would move from position to position, making sure everyone was up and ready.  After stand-to, we would eat an MRE (meal ready to eat), really looking forward to burning the trash in a fire pit to warm up. December mornings in the desert can be cold.

The Mission

Delta Company, 3-5 Cavalry, was task organized with an M1 Abrams Tank Battalion, 4-34 Armor from the 8th Infantry Division from Mainz, Germany.  This Battalion replaced one of the Ready First Combat Teams, which did not deploy.  4-34 AR, "Task Force Centurions" was the only combat unit to deploy from the 8th ID.  It was commanded by LTC Burton, whose nickname was "Soldier Hard".  He was a little like General George Patton, and a little like the Cav Commander on Apocalypse Now - the "I love the smell of napalm" guy.   

Given the mission to destroy elements of the Iraqi Republican Guard, TF Centurions was to cross the Kuwaiti border into Iraq and move as part of General Schwarzkopf's "Hail Mary" to Objective Collins, a large piece of desert northwest of Kuwait City.  The TF expected to encounter enemy armor and Infantry dug-in in elaborate defensive belts.  Tank crews learned to respect Infantry soldiers armed with anti-tank missiles after the Arab/Israeli wars of the 60's.  So, as Task Force Centurion approached these defensive positions, the tanks were to halt andprovide near and far security for the Bradley's approach up to the trenches.  As the tanks and Bradley's engaged the enemy, the ramps would be lowered, and the Infantry squads would dismount.   Once online at the ramp, either with one team on each side of the vehicle or the entire squad on one side or the other (terrain dependent) the squad was to quickly use individual movement techniques to come on-line with the front road wheel of the vehicle.  I would then cook off a grenade and throw it into the trench at the entrance location.  At that point, while being covered by the Bradleys' 25mm automatic cannon and coaxial machine gun, the entire squad would rush the trench, entering just after the explosion.  Then the squad would assault forward down the length of the trench. The key to a successful assault is speed and violence.   After clearing the trench, the soldiers were to mount up, and the TF would move forward to the next dug-inposition.

The "Fighting First" was selected by Captain Brown, our Company Commander, to be the lead squad in the Company trench assault.  There are a total of 6 squads in a Company, organized into 3 platoons.  

After many rehearsals conducted in accurately reproduced trenches (provided by aerial reconnaissance and dug by the 23rdCombat Engineer BN) the tactics, techniques and procedures we developed were to lead with the 3 SAW gunners. PFC Zappone was the lead machine gunner, placing maximum firepower to the front, followed by the other 2 SAW gunners, who were to fire down branches.  CPL Williams was to throw a grenade around each corner encountered prior to rounding the corner.  I was to be located between the two fire teams.    Behind me was the trail team, who would carry more ammo, evacuate casualties, and replace any wounded SAW gunners.  Our Platoon Sergeant, SFC Davis, was to have his BFV straddling the trench, firing his Coax Machine gun over our heads to suppress the enemy as we moved down the trench.  1LT Walter, our Platoon Leader, would dismount (early doctrine provided that the PL should be on the ground to lead the platoon while the platoon sergeant controledthe 4 Bradleys), coordinating between the two 9-man squads and the 4 BFV's. The Second Squad would enter the trench to provide overwhelming firepower to eliminate enemy resistance.  Fluorescent VS-17 panels were secured on our backs and my radio antenna to prevent fratricide.  The Bradleys were to provide near and far security with their 25mm automatic cannons, 7.62mm coaxial machine guns, and TOW missile launchers.  This ensured we would not receive any unwanted enemy pressure during the assault.  A reassuring measure was that the Combat Ambulance, a M113 Armored Personnel Carrier with red crosses painted on all 4 sides, was to drive right up to the toe-hold, to quickly evac any casualties.  A combat medic accompanied us into the trench with his giant aid bag, loaded with IV bags, hemorrhage control equipment, airway management systems, splints and morphine.  Each soldier was designated as a primary or alternate aid and litter team member.

This mission was constantly rehearsed, day, night, and with our chemical gear on.  I realized during one rehearsal, when I gave the command to "fix bayonets", that only 3 of the 9 soldiers had weapons that were capable - the 203's and SAW's were not capable of attaching bayonets.  (Although CPL Williams quickly detached his 203 tube and fixed his bayonet).  Although there was no expectation of a bayonet assault, they were to discourage the enemy from batting our muzzle away while in close quarters.  Of all things to find in the desert, I came across a dental mirror, which I stuck in my helmet and used as a "rear view mirror", to monitor the situation to my rear.  Situational awareness was paramount for everyone involved.  

We had the plan worked out as well as it could be.  The squad was confident but knew what could happen.  At this point, we still did not know what type of enemy resistance to expect butwe expected a prolonged fight.  We sat in the open desert on high alert for over a month, ready to go at a moment's notice.  Honed to a razor's edge, tension mounting day after day.   I didn't share my thoughts with my men, but I really did not expect everyone to make it.  Scud missiles came out of the north, flying over us headed toward Riyadh.  Some were engaged by Patriot Missiles, some were not.  It was becoming very "real" to everyone.  Rosado and Zappone were married, Zap had a young daughter.  We made a pact that if anyone were killed, another squad member would contact the family.  I eventually received the operations order and issued it to the squad.   We were locked and loaded.   When our battalion chaplain, Captain (RANGER) Moran, came to our position the night before the Ground War started, everyone got a Bible or a Rosary and prayed.

To be continued in 2026 – the 35th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm.