Combat· Iraq War (Op IRAQI FREEDOM)
Mosul
Mosul, Iraq's northern city, became a Marine objective in the final phase of the 2003 invasion when Task Force Tripoli, a fast-moving Marine column built around light armored reconnaissance, pushed north from Tikrit to extend Coalition control into the north as the regime collapsed. Marines were lifted and moved into the Mosul area, taking up positions and helping secure the city in the immediate aftermath of the regime's fall, including manning the bridges over the Tigris that linked the halves of the city. The Marine presence in Mosul was part of the rapid northward exploitation after Baghdad's capture, filling the vacuum left by the disintegration of Iraqi forces in the region. It was a relatively brief Marine role in a city that would later become a major battleground under Army responsibility. For the Marines, Mosul marked the northern reach of their 2003 advance before they handed off the area and turned south.
Record no. 748