A three-year veteran of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Major Vincent Torza served as the 4th Squadron's operations officer during most of his Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment. During the fall of 2003, his unit prepared for and executed Operation Rifles Blitz in the Al Qaim region of Al Anbar Province. In preparation and deployment for Rifles Blitz, aviation provided wide-area reconnaissance and a continuing American presence. Speaking of the reconnaissance, Torza said, "This went all the way from the Syrian border all the way back to a town called Rawa, since it was believed that this was a highly used trafficking point for insurgents." The squadron was responsible for "general reconnaissance along the border and trying to maintain a presence, and that presence was both for people on the Iraqi side as well as on the Syrian side." "A few weeks out," he added, "we also increased our presence over the towns to get people used to seeing a higher density of aircraft without anything actually occurring, just a greater presence of aircraft." According to Torza, aviation was also valuable in a screening role, allowing the squadron to monitor the movement of vehicles and personnel without placing soldiers on the ground. He also mentions working in support of operations against high-value targets but keeps this discussion in general terms because of classification. Torza describes the close, habitual relationship between the aviation troops and the ground squadrons they support, the involvement of aviation in every operation and at every level, and holds this up as a major factor in the unit's success. He states that the later handoff to the Marines, as it related to aviation, was difficult because they used different tactics, techniques and procedures and, as a result, the evolution was more of an area orientation than a typical battle handoff.

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