5533: Special Ops: Journal of the Elite Forces and Swat Units (33)

This series of journals takes a close-up look at elite military and law enforcement forces from around the world. Explore these elite units and their missions with atmospheric photos of their equipment and personnel. The 64 page format features colour photos throughout, plus an informative text. Each journal has bewteen 4 and 7 independent articles contributed by leading authorities. •On patrol with the oldest continuously serving division in the US Army •Action photos of the soldiers and vehicles of the BRO Defence correspondent Ralph Zwilling took a trip to Iraq in mid 2004 amid a wave of suicide bombings and improvised explosive devices to bring us this report on the 1st Infantry Division,‘The Big Red One’, with a focus on their operations. With a long and proud history, the 1st ID is the oldest continuously serving division in the US Army. The BRO has seen battle in World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo. In early 2004 they deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom 2. With a strength of 17,000 troops, the headquarters of the BRO is in Tikrit, situated ninety-three miles north of Baghdad. The AOR consists of the four provinces located north of Baghdad. Its mission is to partner with Iraqi civil and military authorities to ensure a secure, stable and self-reliant Iraq. Ralph was invited to a night patrol in Tikrit with Task Force 1-18. The reports of these patrols are supported by action photos of the soldiers and vehicles of the BRO. Within the reports are photos of up-armoured Bradleys with ERA, Abrams, M113s with filed modifications, different variants of armoured HMMWV and gun tracks. Ralph Zwilling participated in a patrol with Task Force 1-77 in Balad, searching for IEDs and weapon caches. He has also taken part in a combat patrol with Task Force 1-7 in Bayji to neutralize or capture non-compliant forces.