of the Arghandab river, and held a strategic area of land Taliban fighters had been using for years. One of the major operations during Strike Brigade's tour was Operation Dragon Strike. Operation Dragon Strike officially launched on 15 September 2010. After a couple of months of fighting, Operation Dragon Strike ended in a coalition victory. The mission of Operation Dragon Strike was to drive insurgent forces from the Arghandab district of the Kandahar Province. Transformation Following the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the regiment was transformed and refitted along with the rest of the division. At that time, the 3d Battalion was again inactivated and the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry activated in its place as the Strike Brigade's RSTA (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition) Squadron. It also adopted 1st Battalion, 320th FAR (Field Artillery Regiment), the 526th BSB (Brigade Support Battalion, consisting of a number of logistical and maintenance personnel), and the 2d BCT's Special Troops Battalion. The STB, formed in part from personnel and equipment of the inactivating 311th Military Intelligence Battalion, was activated with four companies consisting of engineers, communications and signal, military intelligence, military police, and several other specialized and low-density military occupational specialties. These units were again deployed to Iraq in support of the 4th Infantry Division in September 2005. 3rd Battalion The 3rd Battalion received the Army's Valorous Unit Award and Meritorious Unit Citation for the battles in Karbala against Saddam's insurgents attacking 3rd ID's supply lines. Lineage Constituted 14 June 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion concurrently consolidated with the 502d Parachute Battalion (constituted 14 March 1941 in the Army of the United States and activated 1 July 1941 at Fort Benning, Georgia) and consolidated unit designated as the 1st Battalion, 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment. Regiment (less 1st Battalion) activated 2 March 1942 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Assigned 15 August 1942 to the 101st Airborne Division. Inactivated 30 November 1945 in France Re-designated 18 June 1948 as the 502d Airborne Infantry Regiment. Allotted 25 June 1948 to the Regular Army Activated 6 July 1948 at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky Inactivated 1 April 1949 at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky Activated 25 August 1950 at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky Inactivated 1 December 1953 at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky Activated 15 May 1954 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina Relieved 25 April 1957 from assignment to the 101st Airborne Division; concurrently reorganized