CHOSEN COMPANY
HISTORY October - December 2002 January-February, 2003 March 26, 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 COMPANY CHAIN OF COMMAND OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM COMPANY COMMANDER FIRST SERGEANT EXECUTIVE OFFICER 1st PLATOON LEADERs 2d PLATOON LEADERs 3d PLATOON LEADERs “CHOSEN FEW!” “AIRBORNE!” 2nd BN (AIRBORNE) 503rd IN HISTORY The Rock Battalion was constituted on March 14, 1941. The Battalion
made the first combat jump in US Army history on November 8, 1942
near Lourmel, Algeria. Reassigned to the Pacific Theatre, the Battalion
made three more combat jumps during World War II including the jump
that liberated Corregidor Island in the Philippines earning its
nickname, “The Rock.” The Battalion next saw combat
in Vietnam, assigned to the 173d Airborne Brigade. On February 22,
1967 the Battalion conducted the only major airborne assault of
the war, Operation Junction City. The Battalion also participated
in the battle for DAK TO. On December 16, 2001 the 2d Battalion
(Airborne), 503d Infantry was assigned to the 173d Airborne Brigade
and reactivated on January 25, 2002 in Vicenza, Italy. Less than
one year from its activation and less then a month after the activation
of its final rifle company, CHOSEN Company, The ROCK deployed to
Operation Rapid Guardian 3-01 in Kosovo; the first of two back-to-back
operational deployments. On 26 March 2003, the 2d Battalion (Airborne)
503d Infantry conducted a night combat parachute assault into Bashur,
Iraq; exactly 40 years after its initial assignment to the 173d
Airborne Brigade. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, the ROCK seized
the airfield as part of the Brigade allowing the coalition to open
the northern front. On 10 April 2003, the ROCK attacked south to
seize the city of Kirkuk. After seizing a series of objectives (LEE,
HANCOCK, MCCLELLEN, and CHAMBERLAIN), the Battalion established
12 operating bases in the city. From 10 April 2003 until 15 February
2004 the ROCK conducted daily security patrols, countless raids
against Fadayeen and Baath party pockets of resistance, and established
numerous civil projects in order to demilitarize the city. These
projects included establishing a police force and fostering normalcy
within the community. On 9 June 2003, the Battalion was attached
to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division during Operation
Peninsula Strike where it conducted a series of raids in the central
Iraqi city of Al Dulu Yah. Upon returning to Kirkuk on 13 June,
the Battalion continued to conduct combat patrols, raids against
anti-coalition forces, and out of sector raids to places like Halabjah,
Haweja, Tuz, Taza, and the Zaab. In February 2004, after 11 months
of combat operations the ROCK began its redeployment to Italy having
left behind a functional police force and a stable environment in
the city of Kirkuk. Today the ROCK stands ready to accomplish any
mission with the esprit and élan that it has demonstrated
in the past. 173rd Airborne History The 173D Airborne Brigade was activated on the island of Okinawa on March 26, 1963. From its beginning, it proved to be an aggressive and unique unit led by (then) Brigadier General Ellis W. Williamson who established realistic training throughout the Pacific Region. The "TIEN BING," as the Nationalist Chinese paratroopers called the 173d, loosely translated to SKY SOLDIER, made thousands of parachute jumps in a dozen different Pacific area countries. The Brigade was the first Army ground combat Unit sent to the Republic of South Vietnam in May, 1965. The major portion of the brigade landed at Bien Hoa Airfield and found an area that had been battered frequently by enemy raids and shelling attacks. The 1st and 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment along with the 3rd Battalion of the 319th Artillery. comprised the foxhole strength of the 173d. They were well supported by their own Support Battalion and Troop E, 17th Cavalry, D Company, 16th Armour. The First Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, and the 105 Field Battery, 1 RAR AUST Group were later attached to the Brigade during the first year. In Late August, 1966, the 173d received another Infantry Battalion, the 4th, 503rd which arrived from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. A 3rd Battalion was formed in early 1967 at Fort Bragg, N.C. and was shipped to Vietnam to join the Brigade on October 2, 1967. In the combat operations to follow, the paratroopers made their superb training payoff. They were the first to go into War Zone D to destroy enemy base camps. They introduced the use of small, long range patrols. They fought the battles of the Iron Triangle, conducted the only major combat parachute jump in the Tay Ninh area, and blocked NVA incursions during some of the bloodiest fighting of the war at Dak To during the summer and fall of 1967, culminating in the capture of Hill 875. Elements of the brigade conducted an amphibious assault against NVA and VC forces as part of an operation to clear the rice-growing lowlands along the Bong Song littoral. The troopers of the 173D Airborne Brigade (Sep) wear their combat badges and decorations with pride. During more than six years of nearly continuous combat, the brigade earned 14 campaign streamers and four unit citations. 13 Medal of Honor winners, over 6,000 Purple Hearts, the only Combat Parachute Assault of the War, and sadly, over 1700 names of Sky Soldiers on THE WALL. The Brigade was deactivated on January 14, 1972 at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. The Brigade was reactivated in 2000 in Vicenza, Italy. No longer a seperate Brigade, the 173d became the Southern European Task Force, early intervention element for Europe, Africa and portions of Asia, just as the original unit had the same responsibility in the Pacific priot to deployment to Vietnam. Operation Iraqi Freedom found the Brigade making it's second combat jump. This time into Northwest Iraq to secure the Northern Airfield and area. A year later it was subsequently redeployed to Italy to refit and retrain for deployment to Afghanistan where it is currently engaged in combat operations.
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