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Placed in the USASOC Memorial Plaza on 30 June 2015, the Task Force VIKING paver stone pays tribute to the American and Allied Soldiers, Marines, and Airmen who participated in the opening phases of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF).
Task Force VIKING (CJSOTF – North) was formed in March 2003 from elements of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne); 173rd Airborne Brigade; 10th Mountain Division; Company A, 9th PSYOP Battalion; 96th and 404th Civil Affairs Battalions; 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU); 352nd Special Operations Group, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC); and the British Special Boat Service (SBS). Spearheaded by a three and a half hour, low level ingress known as Operation UGLY BABY, TF Viking landed in Northern Iraq; linked up with Kurdish freedom fighters (Peshmerga); and liberated the cities of Mosul, Tikrit, and Kirkuk as well as the surrounding oil fields. TF VIKING accomplished all missions while facing a threat from 13 Iraqi Divisions (two of them Saddam’s elite Republican Guard); Ansar al Islam (who had connections with Al Qaida, Hezbollah, and Hamas); the Iraqi Intelligence Service; the Special Security Organization; and Iraqi Special Mission Units.
Adopting “Concede Nothing” as their unit motto, seven TF VIKING soldiers were awarded Silver Stars and 52 others received Bronze Stars with “V” device for Valor for their actions from March to April 2003.
