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3.15. INVASION OF IRAQ
The United States Army's 299th Multi-role Bridge Company, USAR deployed a Standard
Ribbon Bridge across the Euphrates River at Objective Peach near Al Musayib on the night
of 3 April 2003. The 185-meter bridge was built to support retrograde operations because
of the heavy-armor traffic crossing a partially destroyed adjacent highway span.
"By dawn on 4 April 2003, the 299th Engineer Company had emplaced a 185-meter long
Assault Float Bridge—the first time in history that a bridge of its type was built in
combat." This took place during the 2003 invasion of Iraq by American and British forces.
That same night, the 299th also constructed a 40-metre (130 ft) single-story Medium
Girder Bridge to patch the damage done to the highway span. The 299th was part of
the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division as they crossed the border into Iraq on 20 March
2003.
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