PR: 101st Airborne Division Transfers Authority to Task Force Olympia

February 5, 2004

Release Number: 04-02-08

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION TRANSFERS AUTHORITY TO TASK FORCE OLYMPIA

MOSUL, Iraq – As hundreds of regional Iraqi leaders and Coalition partners looked on, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) transferred authority and operational control of Ninewa, Irbil and Dahuk provinces to Task Force Olympia today at the palace headquarters complex in northern Mosul.

Task Force Olympia is a sub-element of I Corps headquarters based at Fort Lewis, Wash. The unit includes representatives from all three components of the United States Army (Active, Reserve and National Guard) as well as United States Marine Corps and Australian officers. Task Force Olympia’s subordinate units include the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), from Fort Lewis, four Iraqi Civil Defense Corps battalions, three Iraq Border Police battalions and several thousand members of the Iraq Facility Protection Security Forces and will soon include an Iraq Armed Forces battalion.

The ceremony marked the culmination of several weeks of transition operations and regional handovers in Tall Afar, Qayyara and Mosul, as many units under the operational control of Task Force Olympia worked in conjunction with 101st Airborne Division soldiers to ensure a seamless transition of authority.

The 101st Airborne Division redeploys to Fort Campbell, Ky. after a yearlong deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Since April, the 101st has worked in tandem with the Iraqi people to improve the security, infrastructure, economy and government in the Mosul region.

“We have shown that there is nothing that can’t be achieved when we all work together,” said Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commanding general, 101st Airborne Division.

Task Force Olympia intends to continue the progress made by the 101st’s Screaming Eagles.

“We owe you, our nation and the people of Iraq our best effort every day and that is what you shall get,” said Brigadier Gen. Carter F. Ham, commander, Task Force Olympia.

Shortly after the ceremony, the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division boarded UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters for a short ride to Mosul Airfield, where military transport awaited for their trip back to Fort Campbell.

Task Force Olympia continues to work with the citizens and leaders of Iraq to make it a safe, prosperous, and democratic nation.