Arnold, David, Sr., CWO4

Motor Transport
 
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 Service Details
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Current Service Status
USMC Active
Current/Last Rank
Chief Warrant Officer 4
Current/Last Primary MOS
3510-Motor Transport Maintenance Officer
Current/Last MOSGroup
 Motor Transport
Previously Held MOS
3521-Organizational Automotive Mechanic
3529-Motor Transport Maintenance Chief
0402-Logistics Officer
Primary Unit
2010-2012, 0402, 1st Marine Division
Service Years
1992 - 2012
Official/Unofficial USMC Certificates
Marine Combat Water Survival 2nd Class (CWS-2)
Officer Collar Insignia
Chief Warrant Officer 4

 Official Badges 

Gray Belt


 Unofficial Badges 





OIF/Liberation of Iraq (2003)
From Month/Year
March / 2003		 To Month/Year
May / 2003

Description
The 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted from 19 March to 1 May 2003 and signaled the start of the conflict that later came to be known as the Iraq War, which was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States (prior to 19 March, the mission in Iraq was called Operation Enduring Freedom, a carryover from the conflict in Afghanistan). The invasion consisted of 21 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and deposed the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. The invasion phase consisted primarily of a conventionally fought war which concluded with the capture of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad by American forces.

Four countries participated with troops during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from 19 March to 9 April 2003. These were the United States (148,000), United Kingdom (45,000), Australia (2,000), and Poland (194). 36 other countries were involved in its aftermath. In preparation for the invasion, 100,000 U.S. troops were assembled in Kuwait by 18 February. The coalition forces also received support from Kurdish irregulars in Iraqi Kurdistan.

According to U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the coalition mission was "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people." General Wesley Clark, the former Supreme NATO Allied Commander and Joint Chiefs of Staff Director of Strategy and Policy, describes in his 2003 book, Winning Modern Wars, his conversation with a military officer in the Pentagon shortly after 9/11 regarding a plan to attack seven Middle Eastern countries in five years: "As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan."  Others place a much greater emphasis on the impact of the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the role this played in changing U.S. strategic calculations, and the rise of the freedom agenda. According to Blair, the trigger was Iraq's failure to take a "final opportunity" to disarm itself of alleged nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that U.S. and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace.

In a January 2003 CBS poll, 64% of Americans had approved of military action against Iraq; however, 63% wanted Bush to find a diplomatic solution rather than go to war, and 62% believed the threat of terrorism directed against the U.S. would increase due to war. The invasion of Iraq was strongly opposed by some long-standing U.S. allies, including the governments of France, Germany, and New Zealand. Their leaders argued that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that invading the country was not justified in the context of UNMOVIC's 12 February 2003 report. On 15 February 2003, a month before the invasion, there were worldwide protests against the Iraq War, including a rally of three million people in Rome, which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest ever anti-war rally. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié, between 3 January and 12 April 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war.

The invasion was preceded by an air strike on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on 19 March 2003. The following day, coalition forces launched an incursion into Basra Province from their massing point close to the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. While the special forces launched an amphibious assault from the Persian Gulf to secure Basra and the surrounding petroleum fields, the main invasion army moved into southern Iraq, occupying the region and engaging in the Battle of Nasiriyah on 23 March. Massive air strikes across the country and against Iraqi command and control threw the defending army into chaos and prevented an effective resistance. On 26 March, the 173rd Airborne Brigade was airdropped near the northern city of Kirkuk, where they joined forces with Kurdish rebels and fought several actions against the Iraqi army to secure the northern part of the country.

The main body of coalition forces continued their drive into the heart of Iraq and met with little resistance. Most of the Iraqi military was quickly defeated and Baghdad was occupied on 9 April. Other operations occurred against pockets of the Iraqi army including the capture and occupation of Kirkuk on 10 April, and the attack and capture of Tikrit on 15 April. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and the central leadership went into hiding as the coalition forces completed the occupation of the country. On 1 May, an end of major combat operations was declared, ending the invasion period and beginning the military occupation period.
   
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
March / 2003		 To Month/Year
May / 2003
 
Last Updated:
Mar 16, 2020
   
Personal Memories
   
Units Participated in Operation

7th Marines

23rd Marines

1st Marines

2nd Bn, 1st Marines (2/1)

1st Bn, 1st Marines (1/1)

MASS-3, MACG-38

VMGR-452

HMH-462

5th Marines

10th Marines

3rd Bn, 4th Marines (3/4)

VMA-542

1st Combat Engineer Bn (CEB)

VMA-121

3rd Bn, 7th Marines (3/7)

HMM-165

HMM-161

1st Bn, 2nd Marines (1/2)

MWCS-28

2nd Marine Division

VMAQ-2

Marine Forces Reserve Command Headquarters

VMSB-231

L Co, 3rd Bn, 7th Marines (3/7)

MWSS-371 Sandsharks

1st Bn, 24th Marines (1/24)

VMA-214

2nd Engineer Bn

USS Boxer (LHD-4)

VMFA-115

3rd Bn, 10th Marines (3/10)

VMFA-232

HMR-162

MAG-29

VMFA-122 (Crusaders)

HMLA-167

USS Austin (LPD-4)

9th Engineer Support Bn (ESB)

2nd Medical Bn

VMA-323

MWSS-272

2nd Bn, 5th Marines (2/5)

3rd Assault Amphibian Bn (3rd AABn)

9th Comm Bn

2nd Assault Amphibian Bn (2nd AABn)
 
My Photos From This Battle or Operation
No Available Photos

  7530 Also There at This Battle:
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  • [Name Withheld], (2002-2010)
  • Abbey, Derek, Maj, (1991-Present)
  • Abbott, Robert, SSgt, (1998-Present)
  • Abel, Brandon, Sgt, (2001-2007)
  • Abell, Brendan, Sgt, (1999-Present)
  • Abernathy, William, GySgt, (1996-2016)
  • Abeyta, Vincent, 1stSgt, (1990-2011)
  • Abfalter, Douglas, SSgt, (1995-Present)
  • Abruzese, Eric, Cpl, (2002-2006)
  • Acevedo, Salvador, Sgt, (2001-2005)
  • Ackerman, Michael, GySgt, (1983-2006)
  • Acord, Jason, GySgt, (1997-Present)
  • Acosta, Jose, SgtMaj, (1979-2008)
  • Acosta, Raul, Sgt, (2001-2008)
  • Acosta, Raymond, Sgt, (1998-2008)
  • Acosta, Richard, LCpl, (2000-2004)
  • ACOSTA, RUBEN, SSgt, (1998-Present)
  • Adam, John, SSgt, (1977-2007)
  • Adams, Bobby, SSgt, (1996-2008)
  • Adams, Chris, Cpl, (1999-2003)
  • Adams, Daniel, SSgt, (1994-2007)
  • Adams, David, SSgt, (1993-Present)
  • Adams, Ethan, SSgt, (1998-Present)
  • Adams, Jerome, Sgt, (2000-2008)
  • Adams, Jessica, Sgt, (1998-2007)
  • Adams, Joel, Sgt, (2002-2008)
  • Adams, Joseph, SSgt, (1998-2004)
  • Adams, Joshua, Sgt, (2002-2008)
  • Adams, Mike, CWO5, (1983-Present)
  • Adams, Nicole, GySgt, (2011-Present)
  • Adams, Timothy, Sgt, (1997-2007)
  • Adams, Troy, Sgt, (2000-2008)
  • Adamson, Jeremy, LCpl, (1999-2005)
  • Adcox, Bryon, Cpl, (1999-2003)
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  • Aguilar, Adrian, SSgt, (2000-2010)
  • Aguilar, David, Sgt, (1990-2005)
  • Aguilar, Michael, Maj, (1995-Present)
  • Ahlin, Evan, Sgt, (2002-2008)
  • Aiello, Paul, MGySgt, (1990-2015)
  • Aiu, Lucas, Sgt, (2001-2005)
  • Aiu, Sheena, Sgt, (2002-2006)
  • Ajeroh, Eboh, Capt, (1994-2014)
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  • Akers, Bobby, GySgt, (1993-2008)
  • Akrish, Eric, HM3, (2001-Present)
  • Akrish, Eric, PO3, (2001-2007)
  • Alano, Angelo, MSgt, (1994-Present)
  • Alao, Asher, PO2, (2000-2007)
  • Albee, Thomas, Cpl, (1999-2004)
  • Albers, Aaron, Sgt, (1999-2007)
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  • Albino, Jose, Cpl, (1998-2003)
  • ALBOTA, ALEX, Sgt, (1999-2008)
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  • Alexander, Vincent, MSgt, (1981-2007)
  • Alexanian, Phil, HM2, (1996-2006)
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  • Ali, Oscar, Cpl, (2000-2004)
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  • Alker, Michael, 1stLt, (2002-2006)
  • Allaire, Michael, Cpl, (2002-2006)
  • Allan, Joshua, LCpl, (2002-2005)
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