Tasking: I'd like following questions answered

The Iraqi Army is organised on the basis of one armoured division and 13 infantry divisions. The Iraqi Special Forces are under a separate command from the army and consist of a brigade with nine battalions. Other land forces include: a Presidential Brigade with five battalions to protect the President, with a HQ at Besmaya Camp near Baghdad; and a Baghdad Brigade.

According to a US Department of Defence report to the US Congress in March 2009, "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq", ground forces included 201 fully-generated and trained IA battalions and 55 IA brigades. Of the 201 battalions, 179 comprised Iraq Ground Forces Command (IGFC) combatant battalions. The other battalions were made up of the Iraqi Infrastructure Battalions (five); the Presidential Brigade (five); and the Baghdad Brigade and Independent Security Force battalions (13).

The Iraqi Army, as it is now constituted, was created in early 2005 by the merging of various elements - the regular Iraqi Army (originally set up by the Coalition Provisional Authority in 2003), the Iraqi Intervention Force (IIF), the Special Operations Forces, and the Iraqi National Guard. The Special Operations Forces no longer form part of the command structure of the IGFC, but come more directly under the control of the Prime Minister.

There has been some emphasis on building up mechanised and armoured elements, under the command of the 9th Division. Equipment deployed by the division includes T-72 and T-55 MBTs, BMP-1 IFVs, MTLB Russian transport vehicles and Spartan Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs). Some former personnel from the Saddam-era elite Republican Guard forces have joined units that form part of the 9th Division.

Established in mid-2004 the Iraqi Intervention Force (previously called the Iraqi National Task Force) is the counter-insurgency wing of the army. The force, trained and equipped for urban counter-insurgency operations, consists of four brigades. The initial battalion of the force was deployed in Baghdad at the end of June 2004. By early August 2004, the 4th Battalion had been deployed to the southern part of Baghdad for stability and support operations. Also during this period lead elements of the 5th Battalion were deployed to a base in the western portion of Baghdad for force protection operations.

Order of Battle            TOP

Iraqi Ground Forces Command

With US advisers and trainers taking a major role in the development of the Iraqi military, it is expected that operational art and doctrine will reflect US norms. However, it is also likely that the doctrine and approach of the different countries involved in the training programme will be absorbed by those that they are training. The Iraqi Training and Doctrine Command oversees the Tactical Training Command, which has been developing doctrine in the areas of counter-insurgency and logistics through collaborative working groups involving the Multinational Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I), NATO Training Mission - Iraq (NTM-I), and Iraqi security forces.

Bases            TOP

Al Kisik

Ar Rustamiyah, Baghdad

Basra

Besmaya

Diyala

Habbaniyah

Kirkuk

Kirkush

Mosul

Numaniyah

Ramadi

Samarra

Taji

Tallil

Tikrit

Training            TOP

Training by US, UK and other coalition forces of Iraqi Army (IA) personnel has been crucial. Training includes the embedding of US advisory teams with Iraqi units - in 2007 each Iraqi battalion had embedded about 10 US personnel; about 4,000 US personnel were deployed in this role during that year by the Multinational Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I). Apart from being responsible for advisory teams to work with Iraqi forces in the field, MNSTC-I is also involved in other aspects of training, as well as recruiting, equipment purchase and base construction.

MNSTC-I has been providing assistance and mentoring by means of transition and training teams, including the Ministry of Defence Transition Team (MoDTT), the Coalition Army Advisory Training Team (CAATT), the Iraqi National Counter-Terrorism Task Force Transition Team (INCTFTT) and the Joint Headquarters Transition Team (JHQTT).

The MNSTC-I is also responsible for NATO Training Mission - Iraq (NTM-I), which has been playing a crucial role in training. The NTM-I mission was approved by the North Atlantic Council in November 2004. All NATO member countries are contributing to the training effort either in or outside Iraq, through financial contributions or donations of equipment. The NTM-I's Training Equipment and Synchronisation Cell (TESC) coordinates all out-of-country training, as well as equipment donations from various nations to the Iraqi armed forces. By late 2007, more than 1,000 Iraqi personnel, both military and civilian, had received training in NATO countries, either at NATO schools or at national institutions. As regards training in Iraq, the NTM-I mentors the Iraqi Training and Doctrine Command (ITDC) at different levels, from the ITDC leadership to the staff of individual institutions.

Training of Iraqi forces is controlled by the ITDC, which has two main branches, the National Defence University (NDU) and the Tactical Training Command (TTC). The NDU comprises a number of colleges and institutions, including four military academies at Ar Rustamiyah, Zakho, Qualachulon and Tallil. The TTC controls a number of training bases and centres providing basic training for recruits, Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) courses and more specialised courses. There are training bases at Kirkush and Numaniyah, where training is provided by IA training battalions. There is a national training centre at Taji, and a combat training centre at Besmaya. There are regional military training centres at Al Kindi, Al Kut, Habbaniyah, KI (Kirkuk), Old Muthanna, Tikrit and Tallil. Recruits undergo an eight-week course in basic training.

The Iraqi government concluded an agreement with NATO to continue specified training missions beyond July 2009.