Campaign Names and Their Meanings

Following up our earlier post about the phases of the different campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the NY Times At War blog has a very amusing column offering new names for the phases based on the author's experiences downrange.

Iraq
Phase 1 (March 19, 2003, to May 1, 2003)
DoD Title: Liberation of Iraq
My Title: Lost: W.M.D.’s. Found: Lots of Old Def Leppard Shirts

Phase 2 (May 2, 2003, to June 28, 2004)
DoD Title: Transition of Iraq
My Title: “We Disbanded What?” A Whodunit Mystery

Phase 3 (June 29, 2004, to Dec. 15, 2005)
DoD Title: Iraqi Governance
My Title: The Last Throes of an Insurgency

Phase 4 (Dec. 16, 2005, to Jan. 9, 2007)
DoD Title: National Resolution
My Title: The Last Throes of an Insurgency, Part II

Phase 5 (Jan. 10, 2007, to Dec. 31, 2008)
DoD Title: Iraqi Surge
My Title: Counterinsurgency! It Works!

Phase 6 (Jan. 1, 2009, to Aug. 31, 2010)
DoD Title: Iraqi Sovereignty
My Title: Noncombat Operations (That Still Include Combat)

Phase 7 (Sept. 1, 2010, to present)
DoD Title: New Dawn
My Title: Another Day, Another Dollar

Afghanistan
Phase 1 (Sept. 11, 2001, to Nov. 30, 2001)
DoD Title: Liberation of Afghanistan
My Title: Operation American Fury

Phase 2 (Dec. 1, 2001, to Sept. 30, 2006)
DoD Title: Consolidation I
My Title: The Five-Year Tora Bora Facepalm

Phase 3 (Oct. 1, 2006, to Nov. 30, 2009)
DoD Title: Consolidation II
My Title: We Really Should’ve Read Up on the Soviet War in Afghanistan

Phase 4 (Dec. 1, 2009, to present)
DoD Title: Consolidation III
My Title: Counterinsurgency! It Doesn’t Work! (But Who Cares, Bin Laden’s Dead!)

Now we sit back and wait for Guardian to chime in! :)
Matt, you too!

By: Brant