Grim's Hall

Heraldry, Part II: Task Force Dragon

At various times, units of different sizes have held the distinction of being "task forces" here. "Task Force" can mean one of several things -- "Task Force Troy" is the counter-IED unit, for example -- but when assigned to a combat arms unit it denotes which level of command is considered the "ground owning" unit. When I was in Iraq the first time, it was with "Task Force Marne," a division-sized element commaned by the 3rd Infantry Division headquarters.

As you can see from the heraldry below, "Task Force Dragon" was a brigade-sized element (the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division). They have since left Iraq; the current "Task Force Dragon" is a battalion-sized element (1-63 Combined Arms Battalion, also part of 1st ID). That means the battalion owns the land, and the brigade and division commands support the battalion commander's efforts.



The motto, "Bellate Impavide," is "Fight Lustily!" or "Wage War Fearlessly!" Here is a milblogger from that unit, on their long-awaited final day in theater.

Here are two more from that period:





It is good to remember.