Here's how the 'Combat Outpost' Strategy in Iraq Worked

The strategy in Tal Afar set the precedent for the troop surge in Iraq and drastically lowered levels of violence by 2010.

CORRECTION: It was 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, not 3rd brigade 1st cavalry division.

Did you know how the combat outpost strategy was created in the War on Terror? Counter Insurgency or "COIN" operations was a series of tactical moves that the US forces found not only won battles but held onto gains and allowed for progress in the war.

After the civil war in Syria started and the US forces withdrew from Iraq we saw ISIS retake all our old Combat Outposts in Iraq including Tal Afar. They killed thousands of civilians in their attempt to create a caliphate in Iraq. The Iraqi Army recaptured Tal Afar in 2017 and have held onto it since then.

The strategy was "Clear, Hold, Build" meaning they had to clear the town of enemy forces, then hold it with Combat Outposts instead of returning to major Forward Operating Bases, then rebuild the local infrastructure and build trust with the local population.

The idea seems obvious now but at the time it must have seemed insane to send a company of troops out into the middle of a city with no major back up for at least an hour away. General Petreus and the commander of the battle of Tal Afar Lieutenant general McMaster created this strategy.

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