Three Block War: The Cutting Edge

Three Block War: The Cutting Edge, excerpted from the full-length Three Block War: U.S. Marines in Iraq, recounts the exploits of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines during Operation Iraqi Freedom I and II, 2003-2004. As a maneuver battalion of Regimental Combat Team 7, the 3/7 began OIF I securing Rumaila Oil Field in southern Iraq. At Rumaila, 3/7, reinforced with 1st Tank Battalion, engaged elements of Iraq’s 32nd Brigade, and captured the headquarters of 51st Mechanized Division. After fighting its way through Basrah and encountering scattered resistance in Central Iraq, 3/7 fought Republican Guard units at Salman Pak; a Baghdad suburb. Inside Baghdad, 3/7, nicknamed “The Cutting Edge,” saw more gun battles with Republican guards and asymmetric forces; including a battle at Rasheed Air Base. During OIF II in 2004, Three-Seven was assigned to the cutting edge of Western Iraq’s Anbar Province: the Syriamn border. At Husaybah, a half-mile from the border, Kilo 3/7’s Cpl. Jason Dunham won the Medal of Honor, post mortem, after a convoy ambush on April 14. Three days after Cpl. Dunham’s heroics, the entire battalion returned to Husaybah and battled three-hundred mujihedeen.