Operation Ivy Blizzard's main objective was the isolation or elimination of former regime elements and other anti-coalition forces. This operation was initiated very quickly after the capture of Saddam Hussein using soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Ironhorse and some Iraqi security forces. Coalition forces focused in the Samarra area and conducted numerous raids and patrols.

The Coalition Provisional Authority reported on December 19, 2003 that Task Force Ironhorse soldiers had captured 111 people, 15 of whom were labeled as prominent anti-coalition activists. Most of the detainees were taken to Tikrit but high value targets were transferred to Baghdad for processing. Numerous weapons caches were also seized which included surface-to-surface missiles, 228 AK-47s, 198 high explosive rocket warheads, and large amounts of IED-making materials.

The second and third phases of Operation Ivy Blizzard were not military operations, rather civil-military ventures aimed at repairing Samarra's infrastructure as well as training Iraqi Police and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. CENTCOM reported on December 30, 2003 that over $3 million would be earmarked for essential services and would help provide the ICDC with equipment, uniforms and new vehicles.