page_title: Operation Northern Delay
section_title: Operation
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Northern Delay / Operation
caption_attribution_description: English: OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM -- U.S. Army paratroopers prepare to board a C-17 Globemaster III. Nearly 1,000 "Sky Soldiers" of the 173rd Airborne Brigade recently parachuted from C-17s into the Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq. This was the first combat insertion of paratroopers using a C-17. U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Controllers along with an Air Force Contingency Response Group were also part of the troop movement in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Stephen Faulisi)
context_page_description: Operation Northern Delay occurred on 26 March 2003 as part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It involved dropping paratroopers into Northern Iraq. It was the last large-scale combat parachute operation conducted by the U.S. military since Operation Just Cause.
context_section_description: On 26 Mar 2003, more than 950 paratroopers from the 173d Airborne Brigade jumped into Bashur, Iraq, to set the stage for a northern front. Two days later, the first soldier from the 501st Forward Support Company, 173d Airborne Brigade, Supply Support Activity (SSA) arrived at Bashur Airfield. The operation was classified as a combat jump by the Army, although the landing zone was secured by Kurdish and American forces.
  During the next two weeks at Bashur Airfield, all supplies arrived via the air lines of communication (ALOC) on C-17s and C-130s from Ramstein Air Force Base through Constanta Air Force Base in Romania. During an average 24-hour day of operations, more than 40 Air Force 463L ALOC pallets would arrive. Each pallet then had to be downloaded from the plane, transported to the SSA, processed and finally issued either to storage or to customers.
  Some of the C-17s carried huge M1-A Abrams tanks, and weighed from 250,000 to 300,000 pounds when they landed. After two weeks of use by heavy cargo planes, parts of Bashur's 7,000-foot runway crumbled, forcing the closure of 2,300 feet.
caption: U.S. Army paratroopers prepare to board a C-17 Globemaster III into the Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq. This was the first combat insertion of paratroopers using a C-17.
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