text: Security Operations
  3-7 CAV Security Mission at Objective Lions 2003
  U.S. military action in Iraq during March and April 2003 focused upon reaching the nation’s
  capital in Baghdad and eliminating the resistance of Saddam Hussein’s combat forces. By early
  April, the 3rd Infantry Division had reached the city’s outskirts from the south. Its subordinate
  BCT began to seize key objectives on the outskirts of the urban area. Baghdad International
  Airport, designated as OBJECTIVE LIONS, constituted one of these objectives. Its seizure would
  ensure a steady flow of supplies, easing a difficult, logistical effort to support the division.
  On 3 April, the 1st BCT commenced operations to seize the airport. The divisional Cavalry
  squadron, 3-7 Cavalry (known as CAV), moved to provide flank security against any threat
  from the north or west, centering its position on the intersection of Highways 1 and 10.
  Highways 1 and 10 were 2 of the main arteries feeding into Baghdad. The squadron established
  a screen that consisted of a series of checkpoints to interdict movement.
  Initially, the squadron’s positions began to attract enemy attention, but activity dropped during
  the evening and nighttime hours. The early hours of 4 April, however, witnessed a steady
  increase in hostile combat operations. By 0435, 3-7 CAV positions had already destroyed
  several T-72 tanks and other armored vehicles. The Iraqis also sought to pass through the
  screen, using a combination of buses, pickup trucks, and an array of civilian vehicles to carry
  combatants through the squadron’s positions. These efforts constituted part of a larger Iraqi
  effort to prevent the capture of Baghdad International Airport. However, 3-7 CAV employed a
  mix of direct fire, close air support and artillery and all Iraqi efforts to reach the airport failed.
  As the attacks finally diminished, the squadron received reports from observation posts of a
  battalion of Iraqi tanks 3 kilometers north of the screen. The squadron planned an attack while
  aircraft and artillery hammered the suspected target. Low visibility conditions hampered efforts
  to observe the effects of the bombardment. Therefore, Apache troop received instructions to
  move forward and conduct a damage assessment.
  The troop’s lead platoon advanced cautiously in a staggered column. The platoon leader noted
  a berm and the possible location of enemy tanks. The platoon leader reported this information
  just before several gunners in the platoon began to engage hostile vehicles that were positioned
  behind the berm and spaced at intervals of 50 meters. The berm had protected the enemy
  platforms from significant damage from the air and artillery attacks.
  The Cavalry troop quickly engaged the tanks, which received support from Iraqi mortars,
  artillery, and ADA. As the firefight escalated, the troop directed artillery upon the enemy
  positions and withdrew. Later, the troop was found to have destroyed much of an Iraqi
  Republican Guard battalion, including 16, T-72 tanks in an action lasting approximately
  15 minutes. The Cavalry squadron’s flank security mission had succeeded, blocking all Iraqi
  attempts to interfere with the seizure of Baghdad International Airport.