Combat· Iraq War (Op IRAQI FREEDOM)
Rumaylah Oil Fields Secured
The seizure of the Rumaylah oil fields was one of the earliest objectives of the 2003 invasion, an urgent priority to prevent Saddam Hussein's forces from sabotaging and igniting the southern oil infrastructure as they had done in Kuwait during the Gulf War.
Coalition forces, including Marines driving across the border in the opening hours of the war, moved swiftly to capture the vast oil field complex in the south before the retreating Iraqis could destroy the wells. The rapid seizure preserved the oil installations largely intact, protecting infrastructure vital to Iraq's future and denying the regime an environmental and economic weapon. Securing Rumaylah, along with the nearby port of Umm Qasr, anchored the southern end of the invasion and safeguarded the resources that would matter to a postwar Iraq. The operation was an early success of the campaign, accomplished quickly against light resistance as the main drive pushed north.
Record no. 741