Inmilitary science terminology, the description of the units involved in an operation is known as the order of battle (ORBAT). NATO and the U.S. Department of Defense define the order of battle as the identification, strength, command structure, and disposition of the personnel, units, and equipment of any military force.
A U.S. Marine Corps canine handler in June 2009.A U.S. Army mortar team from the 21st Infantry Regiment in June 2009.U.S. Army soldiers from the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion with Iraqi children in July 2009.
There is a distinction in U.S. military terms between the troops of Multinational Force-Iraq and forces which fall directly under CENTCOM's control but are in Iraq also. There are two special operations task forces operating in Iraq, Task Force 77 and CJSOTF-AP. Though TF 77, a 'black' force, does not answer to MNF-Iraq, it is included here for the sake of completeness of the U.S. forces operating within Iraq. TF 77 was under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command and its principal mission was to hunt down the leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).[1]
The second force, which appears to be separate from TF 77, is the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula (CJSOTF-AP). CJSOTF-AP is a "white", or unclassified, special operations task force that as of 2008 was always organized around the headquarters of either 5th Special Forces Group or 10th Special Forces Group.[4] Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula (CJSOTF-AP), itself answers to Special Operations Command Central.
Unless otherwise noted, all units were U.S. in origin. This order of battle extends to battalion level and lists maneuver units only; artillery, support, special operations, and advisory units are not listed. Many brigade combat teams (BCTs) lent battalions to other BCTs during the course of their deployments, giving them "operational control" of those units. In such cases, the battalion's name is followed by "OPCON." Many higher-echelon units have two or more designations, often the formal unit around which the formation is based and then the name of the provisional task force; in these cases, both names are included, separated by a slash. Units were stationed at a variety of bases, including Forward Operating Bases (FOB), Contingency Operating Bases (COB) and Joint Security Stations (JSS).
132nd Brigade Support Battalion (132nd BSB)—rear area security, Camp Bucca, Iraq
Brigade Special Troops Battalion (BSTB)
155th Brigade Combat Team (155th ABCT) (Colonel William L. Glasgow)— conducted base defense, force protection, personal protection and convoy escort security missions throughout Iraq
Headquarters, 155th ABCT
106th Brigade Support Battalion (106th BSB)
155th Brigade Special Troops Battalion (155th BSTB)
2nd Squadron, 107th Cavalry Regiment, Troops Bravo and Charlie (OHARNG) - Camp Taji
2nd Battalion, 114th Field Artillery Regiment (2-114th FAR)
1st Battalion, 155th Infantry Regiment (Joint Base Balad)
1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment (1-487th FAR)
1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment (Air Assault) Al Saqr-Camp Falcon, Baghdad. Patrolled the most dangerous part of Downtown Baghdad Al Dora, Karada Street, Horajab, Al Sadr City.
U.S. Army soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division mine-sweeping near a Baghdad highway in October 2009.
1st Cavalry Division (Major General Daniel P. Bolger)—Camp Victory, Baghdad
Also known as Task Force Baghdad, this division headquarters was provided by the 1st Cavalry Division. The division's area of responsibility (AOR) was the city of Baghdad. MND-B headquarters was previously provided by Headquarters 1st Armored Division (2003–2004), Headquarters 1st Cavalry Division (2004), Headquarters 3rd Infantry Division (2004–2005), Headquarters 4th Infantry Division (2005–2006) and Headquarters 1st Cavalry Division (2006–2007), Headquarters 4th Infantry Division (2007–2009), Headquarters 1st Cavalry Division (2009–2010).
A U.S. Army officer from the 82nd Airborne Division in March 2009.A U.S. Army soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division with an Iraqi child in August 2009.
34th Infantry Division - (Major General Rick C. Nash)—Contingency Operating Base Basra [18]
Multi-National Division South, also known as Task Force Mountain, assisted the Iraqi Armed Forces with security in the area south of Baghdad ranging from Najaf to Wasit provinces extending to Basra. MND-South headquarters was provided by the 10th Mountain Division (Light) from Fort Drum, New York. The areas south of Baghdad were previously organized into Multi-National Division-Center, under U.S. leadership, and Multi-National Division (South East), which was provided by the British Army. The areas were merged into MND-South on March 31, 2009, to reflect the departure of the UK from Iraq.[19] MND-Center took in portions of the area previously controlled by the long-disbanded Polish-led Multi-National Division Central-South.
The 34th Division transferred control of MND/USD-South to the 1st Infantry Division on February 2, 2010.
A U.S. Army soldier from the 25th Infantry Division with Iraqi children in March 2009.U.S. Army soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division demonstrating warfare maneuvers before Iraqi soldiers in September 2009.
This division headquarters was provided by the 25th Infantry Division and was also known as Task Force Lightning. Its area of responsibility included the cities of Balad, Kirkuk, Tikrit, Mosul, and Samarra. It was based at Contingency Operating Base Speicher outside Tikrit, where one of its brigades was also stationed. It also had one brigade based in Mosul, one in Kirkuk, one at Taji, and one in Baqubah.
Combat Logistics Regiment 27 (CLR 27) (Forward) (Colonel Vincent A. Coglianese)—Camp Al Taqaddum with detachments in Ramadi, Baharia, Al Asad and Sahl Sinjar
Combat Logistics Battalion 4 (CLB 4)
Combat Logistics Battalion 46 (CLB 46)
2nd Supply Battalion
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24 (NMCB 24)
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) (Forward) (Brigadier General Robert S. Walsh)—Al Asad with detachments at Korean Village, Al Taqaddum, Al Qaim and other locations throughout the Al Anbar Province
Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2 (MWHS 2)
Marine Air Control Group 28 (MACG 28)
Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2 (VMU-2)
Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 (MWSS 271)
Marine Tactical Air Command Squadron 28 (MTACS 28)
The U.S. Navy Riverine Squadrons are elements of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) which took an active part in land operations in support of the Army and Marine units. According to the Navy: "The Navy's Riverine force focuses on conducting Maritime Security Operations and Theater Security Cooperation in a riverine area of operations or other suitable area. The force is capable of combating enemy riverine forces by applying fires directly, or by coordinating supporting fires. It will share battle space with the other Services in an effort to close the seams in Doctrine, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures, and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance."[34]
Three riverine squadrons were active in the U.S. Navy, all under the command of Riverine Group 1, located in Norfolk, Virginia. Riverine Squadron 1 (RIVRON 1) deployed to Iraq in April 2007 and was relieved by Riverine Squadron 2 (RIVRON 2) in October 2007.[35] Riverine Squadron 3 (RIVRON 3) was established in July 2007[36] and they relieved RIVRON 2 when their deployment was completed in April 2008. Also deployed to Iraq, but was in support of CJSOTF-AP and TF-77, was Combat Camera Group Pacific/Atlantic. This unit provided highly trained combat photographers who integrated with SEAL Teams and Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha (ODA) Teams in order to provide intelligence collection and combat documentation.
The British Armed Forces was the second-largest contributor of foreign troops to Iraq, behind the United States. The British Army commanded the former Multi-National Division (South-East) (Iraq), which included UK, Italian, Australian, Romanian, Danish, Portuguese, Czech, and Lithuanian troops. However, the UK turned over command to the United States on March 31, 2009, and were in the process of withdrawing the 4,100 UK personnel based in and around Basra, leaving behind just 400 by the end of July 2009.[39]20th Armoured Brigade commanded the British forces in Iraq, which were then attached the U.S.-led Multi-National Division South.[40]
The Romanian Armed Forces had one battalion deployed to Iraq. The 26th Infantry Battalion "Neagoe Basarab", also known as the Red Scorpions, based at Contingency Operating Base Adder, part of Tallil Air Base, near Nasiriyah, was attached to the 4th BCT, 1st Cavalry Division and performed convoy and infrastructure guard missions. The battalion was withdrawn from early June 2009.[42]
The NATO Training Mission – Iraq was not a combat mission but was focused on training and mentoring the Iraqi Armed Forces and the Iraqi Police.[43] It was supported and funded by all 28 NATO nations, and 14 nations had staff in theater as of January 2009, including Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Ukraine participated alongside these nations, though it is not a member of NATO.[44]
Iraqi insurgency : the armed campaign being waged by various irregular forces, both Iraqi and external in origin, against the multinational force and the new Iraqi government.
Iraq Survey Group: A fact-finding mission sent by the coalition after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs developed by Iraq under the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
^This story was written Mass Communication Specialist Seaman John Suits, Fleet Public Affairs Center Atlantic. "RIVRON 1 Sailors Return Home". Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
