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Coalition Forces Land Component Command, or CFLCC, is a command directing all land forces of different allied countries on behalf of a combatant commander or Joint task force commander.
In U.S. military terminology, Unified Combatant Commands or Joint Task Forces can have components from all services and components – Army ~, Air, Naval, Marine, and Special Operations. Thus a Land Component Command is a command directing all land forces on behalf of a combatant commander or JTF commander.
Coalition, or sometimes 'Combined', means armed services of different countries are involved. Thus a Coalition Forces Land Component Command is a multinational land force, usually operating as part of a U.S. combatant command, though it could theoretically be applied by other Western and U.S. allied nations.
CFLCC During 'Iraqi Freedom'
The three primary responsibilities of Third Army/ARCENT/CFLCC, represented by three separate logos.
A Coalition Forces Land Component Command was established under Commander U.S. Army Forces Central Command, Lieutenant General David McKiernan, to direct the two corps-sized formations involved in the initial invasion of Iraq in March 2003, I Marine Expeditionary Force and U.S. V Corps. The units to brigade level involved in CFLCC's initial invasion of Iraq were:
- I Marine Expeditionary Force
- U.S. V Corps
- 3rd Infantry Division
- 1st Brigade, 3rd ID
- 2nd Brigade, 3rd ID
- 3rd Brigade, 3rd ID
- 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
- 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne
- 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne
- 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne
- 173rd Airborne Brigade
- 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division
- 3rd Infantry Division
From March until June 2003, CFLCC was joined by 1st Armored Division, 4th Infantry Division, and 2nd and 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiments. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment formed Task Force Rifles to control the Al-Anbar area during its tour in Iraq which ended in September 2003.
CFLCC was replaced by Combined Joint Task Force 7 on 14 June 2003.
After its replacement by CJTF-7 as the operational headquarters for all ground units in the CENTCOM theater, CFLCC became the primary logistics hub for the theater. CFLCC still remained in charge of logistics for all land forces in theater, and remained the headquarters for U.S. Army Central Command, managing Army service component issues in the CENTCOM theatre. It is also Third US Army, the same unit that George S. Patton commanded during World War II. It is now at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, with primary Third Army/ARCENT headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina.
See also
References
- Fontenot, COL Gregory; Degen, LTC E.J.; Tohn, LTC David; Operation Iraqi Freedom Study Group (2004). "Combined Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) Order of Battle". On Point" The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom (PDF). Washington D.C.: Office of the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army. pp. 441–496. ISBN 9780160781964.
- Full order of battle for "major combat" through 1 May 2003. Archive.org link to appendix to "On Point." "A snapshot compiled from unit records based on a CFLCC task organization briefing dated 010300Z May 03 (1 May 2003, 0300 hours Greenwich Mean Time). OIF task organization changed frequently, and this order of battle reflects the end of major combat operations on 1 May 2003. This is an order of battle (identification and command structure of a unit), not a task organization (temporary modification of the size and composition of a unit to meet mission requirements); therefore, organic subunits of a headquarters or the cross attachment of organic subunits within battalion-level formations may not be reflected. The intent was inclusion. Late-arriving units were cross-checked against force closure reports from 15-31 April on the CENTCOM JOPES Ops 2 newsgroup. Army unit designations are based on US Army Force Management Support Agency descriptions."