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Introduction
On March 26, 2003, more than 1,000 soldiers of the 173d Airborne Brigade parachuted from 12 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft into northern Iraq, 8 days after the initiation of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Assigned to the US Army Southern European Task Force, the Sky Soldiers parachuted into Iraq to secure the strategically situated Bashur Airfield and to assist special operations forces in deterring the following.
* Iraqi operations against the Kurdish-held region
* Factional fighting among regional Kurdish tribes
* Intervention into Iraq by Turkey1,2
During the next 96 hours, C-17s airlifted the second echelon of the brigade's forces into Bashur, consisting of over 400 vehicles, 2,000 soldiers, and 3,000 tons of equipment.3
The airdrop of the 173d Brigade into Iraq was the largest American airborne operation since Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama in 1989.4 A complete success in terms of execution and objectives achieved, this large-scale combat airborne operation constitutes what is known within joint doctrine as a strategic brigade airdrop (SBA). SBA has long been a part of US military capability but known by different names. SBA has in recent years received significant attention within the Army and Air Mobility Command (AMC). The focus of this attention is AMC's inability to execute SBA within specified Army timing parameters and the measures it has taken to meet those requirements. Army transformation and its concept of modularity presents new dimensions that may affect the nature and execution of SBA as well as AMC's multifaceted program to satisfy Army requirements for SBA.
Transformation permeates today's Army. The post-Cold War environment prompted the Service to examine its roles, mission, and structure during the 1990s, which the September 11th attacks and Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom accelerated. The Army recognized that its heavy force orientation constrained its ability to meet current and future probable threats and initiated a Service-wide agenda to transform itself into a more capable and responsive force. Service structure, unit organization, equipment, and personnel now fall under various transformation initiatives and programs-a number of which may directly affect SBA operations.
Modularity is the Army's concept of reorganizing its division-based combat force structure into one that is brigade-based. The goal of modularity is to "obtain a more relevant and ready campaign-quality...