Task Force Viking Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – North ( CJSOTF – N ) , also known as Task Force Viking , was the U . S . joint task force responsible for the northern front during the initial period of the 2003 invasion of Iraq ( OIF Rotation I ) . It secured Kirkuk , Mosul , and the northern oil fields ; prevented 13 Iraqi Army divisions from defending Baghdad or reinforcing defensive operations against United States and British troops advancing in the south , and thwarted Turkish efforts to subvert Kurdistan . Task Force Viking conducted unconventional warfare , special reconnaissance , direct action , and Artillery observer missions in order to disrupt and fix Iraqi forces arrayed along the " Green Line " , the nominal 1991 demarcation line between the Kurdish northern provinces of Iraq and the remainder controlled by Saddam Hussein . CJSOTF – N was composed of Special Forces units , the 173d Airborne Brigade , elements of the 10th Mountain Division and the 96th CA BN ( - ) and the 404th CA BN of the United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command ( USACAPOC ) of the United States Army ; the 352d Special Operations Group of the United States Air Force ; the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit ; and indigenous Kurdish Peshmerga . All U . S . units were initially prepositioned in Constanţa , Romania beginning in February , 2003 except the 173d based in Vicenza , Italy , and the 26th MEU based aboard the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group in the Mediterranean Sea . The mix of conventional and special operations personnel for the task force numbered approximately 5 , 200 and fell under the United States Special Operations Command Joint Operations Center ( USSOCOM JOC ) . The TF motto was " Concede Nothing . " Facing Task Force Viking were two divisions of the Iraqi Republican Guard ( including the 6th Motorised ? ) , two Mechanized infantry divisions , one armored division , eight infantry division s and Fedayeen Saddam militia . Amongst these units were the 2nd , 4th , 7th , 8th , 16th , and 38th Divisions . Task Force Viking also had to contend with Ansar Al Islam , Ansar Al Sunna , and Kadek / PKK irregulars and also with the dueling future political aspirations of the various Kurdish factions ( Patriotic Union of Kurdistan & Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq ) , Turkomen ( Iraqi Turkmen Front ) , Yazidis , and the Sunni Arab tribes . Originally , the task force planned to infiltrate Northern Iraq via Turkey . However , Turkey did not grant permission for an invasion of Iraq from its soil or over its airspace . Coalition commanders instead undertook a complicated and roundabout infiltration via Jordanian airspace beginning the evening of 20 March 2003 . This operation was known as " Ugly Baby " . The " Ugly Baby " operation was the longest infiltration mission since World War II and the longest MC - 130 Combat Talon infiltration in history . After much diplomatic maneuvering , Turkey finally allowed US overflights on 23 March . This allowed Task Force Viking to expand to 50 individual Special Forces Operational Detachments - Alpha ( ODAs ) ( formerly known as A - Teams . ) Reinforcing the ODAs on 26 March , the 173rd made a combat jump onto Bashur airfield north of the " Green Line " . This was the largest airborne assault since World War II . The 173d fully secured Bashur , enabling airborne insertion of 1st Infantry Division armor on 7 April , followed by the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit . A friendly fire incident near Pir Daoud on Sunday , 6 April 2003 , killed 18 members of Task Force Viking and injured 45 . An F - 15 mistakenly dropped a bomb on the position of US Special Forces and Peshmerga troops instead of on the Iraqi tank away . One of the injured was Wajih Barzani , the brother of Masoud Barzani , leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party ( KDP ) . Shortly after its 10 April 2003 liberation , the Turkish government began to covertly dispatch their own special forces troops to Kirkuk . Disguised as aid workers , they were to train and equip members of the Iraqi Turkmen Front to destabilize Kurdistan and provide Turkey a pretext to intervene with a large " Peace Keeping " force . Elements of the 173d under the command of Colonel William Mayville identified and intercepted the Turkish soldiers , and escorted them back across the border with no shots being fired . TF Viking Milestones : < br > Kirkuk Liberation – 10 April 2003 < br > Mosul Liberation – 11 April 2003