Task Force Viking

It secured Kirkuk, Mosul, and the northern oil fields; prevented 13 Iraqi Army divisions from defending Baghdad or reinforcing defensive operations against American and British troops advancing in the south, and thwarted Turkish efforts to subvert Kurdistan.

Reinforcing the ODAs on 26 March, the 173rd made a combat jump onto Bashur airfield, as part of Operation Northern Delay, 40 miles (64 km) north of the "Green Line".

[8] The 173rd assumed the security mission of Bashur from 10th Group ODA's and Peshmerga, receiving the airborne insertion of 1st Infantry Division armor on 7 April, followed by the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

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 173rd under the command of Colonel William C. Mayville Jr. identified and intercepted the Turkish soldiers, and escorted them back across the border with no shots being fired.