Iraq War order of battle

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Sgt. Karl King and Pfc. David Valenzuela lay down cover fire while their squad maneuvers down a street from behind the cover of a Stryker combat vehicle to engage gunmen who fired on their convoy in Al Doura, Iraq, on March 7, 2007. The soldiers are from Company C, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
Sgt. Karl King and Pfc. David Valenzuela lay down cover fire while their squad maneuvers down a street from behind the cover of a Stryker combat vehicle to engage gunmen who fired on their convoy in Al Doura, Iraq, on March 7, 2007. The soldiers are from Company C, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.

In military terms, the description of 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. Below is a brief order of battle for the major units currently deployed with the Multinational force in Iraq.

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[edit] Overall chain of command

The overall military commander in Iraq is Gen. David H. Petraeus, Commander, Multi-National Force Iraq (MNF-I) who reports to United States Central Command. MNF-I replaced Combined Joint Task Force 7 in May 2004. MNF-I consists of Multi-National Corps Iraq and Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I), as well as a logistical support element. The U.S. Army's III Corps headquarters, under Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, provides command and control for Multi-National Corps Iraq, which is divided into the following division-sized areas:

  • Multi-National Division Baghdad

This division is headquartered by the 1st Cavalry Division. In addition to Baghdad, it is responsible for Babil pand Karbala provinces. It is based at Camp Liberty, north of Baghdad International Airport. The division headquarters controls a fluctuating number of brigades planned to top off at eleven in June. Of the nine brigades currently there, one is stationed north of the city at Taji, another south of the city at Iskandariya, one on the southwest outskirts, and six within the city itself. Most of the brigades' troops are dispersed at battalion- and company-level outposts, but one Stryker brigade serves as a mobile reserve.

  • Multi-National Division North

This division is headquartered by the 25th Infantry Division. It is based at Contingency Operating Base Speicher outside Tikrit, where one of its brigades is also stationed; its remaining three brigades are based in Mosul, Kirkuk, and Baquba.

  • Multi-National Force West

This force is headquartered by II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). It covers western Iraq, including Anbar province and the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, the area where Iraq's Sunni insurgency has been at its strongest. Headquartered at Camp Fallujah, where one of its two regiments is also stationed, it has another regiment at Camp Ripper near al-Asad and a brigade in Ramadi.

  • Multi-National Division - Central South

This division is headquartered by the Polish military and covers the area south of Baghdad, including the cities of Kut and Hilla. As the contingent allied units departed over the course of 2006, MND-CS all but disappeared, and will dissolve officially in 2007. Iraqi Army units are taking over the division's area of responsibility.

The British military commands this division, which covers southern Iraq, including the city of Basra. It is a division only in name, as it is manned with a reinforced brigade which is itself expected to be drawn down from its current strength of 7,000 to 5,500 in the spring of 2007.

  • Logistical Support Area Anaconda

The U.S. 13th Corps Support Command is in charge of LSA Anaconda, which is responsible for providing logistics support throughout Iraq. It has operational control over one combat brigade, based at Tallil airbase near Nasiriyah. This brigade provides convoy security across much of the country.

[edit] Multinational Force Iraq: complete current order of battle

In the summer of 2006, units from the fourth rotation of forces in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom 05-07, or OIF 05-07) began to be replaced by units from the fifth rotation, OIF 06-08, and in January 2007, some units began to deploy early as part of a "surge" or forces into Anbar and Baghdad. Many brigade combat teams (BCTs) lend 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. Unless otherwise noted, all units are American. This order of battle extends to battalion level and lists maneuver units only; artillery, support, special operations, and advisory units are not listed.

Multinational Force Iraq (Gen. David Petraeus) -- Camp Victory, Baghdad

        • 3rd Battalion 297th Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col. Duff Mitchell) -- rear area security, Camp Buehring, Kuwait
      • 1st BCT, 34th Infantry Division (Col. David Elicerio) -- Logistical Support Area (LSA) Adder, Tallil
        • 1st Battalion 133rd Infantry Regiment (Mechanized) (Lt. Col. Ben Corell) -- Camp Ripper, Asad
        • 2nd Combined Arms Battalion 136th Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col. Gary Olson) -- Camp Taqaddum
        • 1st Armored Recon Squadron 167th Cavalry Regiment (Lt. Col. Martin Apprich) -- Convoy Support Center (CSC) Scania, near Diwaniya
  • Multinational Corps Iraq/III Corps (Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno) -- Camp Victory, Baghdad
      • Stryker Readiness Force Iraq/3rd SBCT, 2nd Infantry Division (Col. Steven Townsend) -- MNC-I QRF engaged north of Sadr City
        • 2nd Battalion 3rd Infantry Regiment (Stryker) -- QRF at FOB Kalsu, Iskandariya
        • 1st RSTA Squadron 14th Cavalry Regiment (Stryker) (Lt. Col. Jeffrey Peterson) -- QRF recently in Dora near FOB Falcon
        • 5th Battalion 20th Infantry Regiment (Stryker) (Lt. Col. Bruce Antonia) -- QRF at FOB Warhorse, Baquba
        • 1st Battalion 23rd Infantry Regiment (Stryker) (Lt. Col. Avanulas Smiley) -- QRF recently engaged in Ghaziliya, Baghdad
    • Multinational Division Baghdad/1st Cavalry Division (Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil) -- Camp Victory, Baghdad
        • 1st Battalion 149th Infantry Regiment -- Camp Slayer, Baghdad
        • 33rd Light Infantry Battalion (Republic of Georgia) -- FOB Prosperity, Baghdad
      • 1st BCT, 1st Cavalry Division (Col. Paul E. Funk II) -- Camp Taji
        • 1st Armored Recon Squadron 7th Cavalry Regiment -- Camp Taji
        • 2nd Combined Arms Battalion 8th Cavalry Regiment -- Camp Taji
      • 2nd BCT, 1st Cavalry Division (Col. Bryan Roberts) -- FOB Prosperity, Baghdad
        • 4th Armored Recon Squadron 9th Cavalry Regiment -- around Haifa Street, Baghdad
        • 1st Battalion 18th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized) (Lt. Col. George Glaze) (OPCON from 2nd BCT, 1st Infantry Division) -- FOB Prosperity, Baghdad
        • 1st RSTA Squadron 40th Cavalry Regiment (Airborne) (OPCON from 4th BCT, 25th Infantry Division) -- FOB Falcon, Baghdad
      • 2nd BCT, 1st Infantry Division (Col. J. B. Burton) -- Camp Liberty, Baghdad
        • 1st Combined Arms Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment (OPCON from 2nd BCT, 1st Cavalry Division) -- Khadra, Baghdad
        • 2nd Combined Arms Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment (OPCON from 1st BCT, 1st Cavalry Division) -- Camp Striker, Baghdad
        • 2nd Combined Arms Battalion 12th Cavalry Regiment (Lt. Col. James Nickolas) (OPCON from 4th BCT, 1st Cavalry Division) -- Ghazaliya, Baghdad
        • 1st Battalion 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment (OPCON from 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division) -- Hurriya, Baghdad
      • 4th IBCT, 1st Infantry Division (Col. Richard Gibbs) -- FOB Falcon, Baghdad
        • 1st RSTA Squadron 4th Cavalry Regiment -- FOB Falcon, Baghdad
        • 2nd Battalion 12th Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col. Stephan Michael) (OPCON from 2nd BCT, 2nd Infantry Division) -- Dora, Baghdad
        • 2nd Battalion 16th Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich) -- FOB Falcon, Baghdad
        • 1st Battalion 28th Infantry Regiment -- Amel, Baghdad
      • 2nd BCT, 2nd Infantry Division (Col. Jeffrey Bannister) -- FOB Loyalty, Baghdad
        • 1st Combined Arms Battalion 8th Cavalry Regiment (OPCON from 2nd BCT, 1st Cavalry Division) -- FOB Rustamiya, Baghdad
        • 3rd RSTA Squadron 61st Cavalry Regiment (Lt. Col. James Phillips) -- FOB Loyalty, Baghdad
        • 1st Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (OPCON from 1st BCT, 82nd Airborne Division) -- Rusafa, Baghdad
      • 2nd BCT, 10th Mountain Division (Col. Michael Kershaw) -- Camp Striker, Baghdad
        • 1st RSTA Squadron 89th Cavalry Regiment -- Camp Striker, Baghdad
        • 2nd Battalion 14th Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col. John Valledor) -- Patrol Base Mahmudiya
        • 4th Battalion 31st Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col. Michael Infanti) -- Patrol Base Yusufiya
      • 4th BCT (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division (Col. Michael X. Garrett) -- FOB Kalsu, Iskandariya
        • 1st Battalion 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment -- FOB Kalsu, Iskandariya
      • 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division (Col. Billy Don Farris) -- FOB Apache, Adhamiya, Baghdad
        • 2nd Battalion 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment -- Sadr City, Baghdad
        • 1st RSTA Squadron 73rd Cavalry Regiment (Airborne) (Lt. Col. Ross Davidson) -- Sadr City, Baghdad
        • 1st Battalion 26th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized) (Lt. Col. Eric Schacht) (OPCON from 2nd BCT, 1st Infantry Division) -- Adhamiya, Baghdad
    • Multinational Division North/25th Infantry Division/TF Lightning (Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon) -- COB Speicher, Tikrit
      • Headquarters element, 149th IBCT (Col. Charles T. Jones) (COB security) -- COB Speicher, Tikrit
      • 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division (Col. David Sutherland) -- FOB Warhorse, Baquba
        • 6th Armored Recon Squadron 9th Cavalry Regiment (Lt. Col. Keith Gogas) -- FOB Normandy, Miqdadiya
        • 1st Combined Arms Battalion 12th Cavalry Regiment -- FOB Warhorse, Baquba
        • 5th RSTA Squadron 73rd Cavalry Regiment (Airborne) (Lt. Col. Andrew Poppas) (OPCON from 3rd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division) -- FOB Caldwell, Kirkush
        • 31st Light Infantry Battalion (Republic of Georgia) -- FOB Warhorse, Baquba
      • 4th BCT, 1st Cavalry Division (Col. Stephen Twitty) -- FOB Marez, Mosul
        • 3rd RSTA Squadron 4th Cavalry Regiment (Lt. Col. Malcolm Frost) (OPCON from 3rd BCT, 25th Infantry Division) -- FOB Sykes, Tel Afar
        • 2nd Combined Arms Battalion 7th Cavalry Regiment -- FOB Marez, Mosul
        • 1st Armored Recon Squadron 9th Cavalry Regiment -- FOB Marez, Mosul
      • 3rd BCT, 25th Infantry Division (Col. Patrick Stackpole) -- FOB Warrior, Kirkuk
        • 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col. Drew Meyerowich) -- FOB McHenry, Hawija
        • 2nd Battalion 35th Infantry Regiment -- FOB Warrior, Kirkuk
      • 3rd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division (Col. Bryan Owens) -- COB Speicher, Tikrit
        • 3rd Combined Arms Battalion 8th Cavalry Regiment (Lt. Col. Kevin Dunlop) (OPCON from 3rd BCT, 1st Cavalry Division) -- FOB Paliwoda, Balad
        • 1st Battalion 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col. Scott Harris) -- FOB Lancer, Bayji
        • 2nd Battalion 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment -- FOB Brassfield-Mora, Samarra
    • Multinational Division Central South/11th Armored Cavalry Division (Poland) (Maj. Gen. Pawel Lamla) -- Camp Echo, Diwaniya
        • U/I Polish battalion -- Camp Echo, Diwaniya
      • 17th Mechanized Brigade (Poland) (Brig. Gen. Miroslaw Rozanski) -- Camp Delta, Kut
        • Cuscatlan Battalion (El Salvador) -- Camp Delta, Kut
    • Preparing to move into Iraq from Kuwait
      • 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division
        • 1st Combined Arms Battalion 30th Infantry Regiment
        • 2nd Combined Arms Battalion 69th Armor Regiment
        • 3rd Armored Recon Squadron 1st Cavalry Regiment (Lt. Col. John Kolasheski)
        • 1st Battalion 2nd Marines

[edit] Upcoming deployments

Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08 rotation: All Army units from the Operation Iraqi Freedom 05-07/OIF4 rotation have now redeployed to their home bases (Marine forces will not complete OIF 05-07 until March or later). In their place, units from the OIF 06-08 rotation have arrived in theater. To complete the OIF 06-08 rotation, the following units are scheduled to deploy in the coming months (although since Marine units serve seven-month tours, a new complement of battalions will arrive in September for technically the same rotation):

"Surge" units: On January 11, 2007, the Defense Department announced that three Marine battalions and one Army BCT would have their tours extended as part of the "surge" of forces to the Baghdad and Anbar areas of operations. It also announced that beginning in January, one new BCT would be added to the force in Iraq each month for five months. The surge brigades still preparing to deploy are:

  • 3rd Infantry Division -- to deploy in March to Baghdad
    • 4th SBCT, 2nd Infantry Division -- to deploy in April to Baghdad
      • 4th Battalion 9th Infantry Regiment
      • 2nd Battalion 23rd Infantry Regiment
      • 1st Battalion 38th Infantry Regiment
      • 2nd RSTA Squadron 1st Cavalry Regiment
    • 2nd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division -- to deploy in May to Baghdad
      • 3rd Armored Recon Squadron 7th Cavalry Regiment
      • 1st Combined Arms Battalion 64th Armor Regiment
      • 3rd Combined Arms Battalion 15th Infantry Regiment

Operation Iraqi Freedom 07-09 rotation: On November 17, 2006, the Pentagon announced the first of the major units scheduled to deploy as part of the OIF 07-09 rotation. Several of the units later had their deployments accelerated as part of the surge of troops to Baghdad. Another unit originally scheduled to deploy for OIF 07-09, the 173rd Airborne BCT, has been retasked to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The major units that remain on the basic OIF 07-09 rotation are:

    • 1st IBCT, 82nd Airborne Division
      • 2nd Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment
      • 3rd RSTA Squadron (Airborne) 73rd Cavalry Regiment

In addition to the units that have been officially announced, the following units are training with the expectation of deployment in the late OIF 07-09 timeframe:

  • 4th Infantry Division
    • 4th HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division
      • 3rd Combined Arms Battalion 7th Infantry Regiment
      • 4th Combined Arms Battalion 64th Armor Regiment
      • 6th Armored Recon Squadron 8th Cavalry Regiment (possibly as 7th Armored Recon Squadron 1st Cavalry Regiment)
    • 1st HBCT, 4th Infantry Division
      • 8th Armored Recon Squadron 10th Cavalry Regiment
      • 1st Combined Arms Battalion 22nd Infantry Regiment
      • 1st Combined Arms Battalion 66th Armor Regiment
    • 3rd HBCT, 4th Infantry Division
      • 1st Combined Arms Battalion 8th Infantry Regiment
      • 1st Combined Arms Battalion 68th Armor Regiment
      • 2nd Armored Recon Squadron 9th Cavalry Regiment (possibly as 4th Armored Recon Squadron 10th Cavalry Regiment)
    • 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
      • 1st Squadron 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
      • 2nd Squadron 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
      • 3rd Squadron 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
    • 2nd SBCT, 25th Infantry Division
      • 1st Battalion 14th Infantry Regiment
      • 1st Battalion 21st Infantry Regiment
      • 1st Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment
      • 5th RSTA Squadron 14th Cavalry Regiment
    • 1st IBCT, 10th Mountain Division
      • 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry Regiment
      • 1st RSTA Squadron 71st Cavalry Regiment
      • 1st Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment

Finally, following the Pentagon's January 11, 2007 announcement that the 24-month deployment limit for National Guard brigades was being scrapped, it is thought that as many as six National Guard brigades may deploy for second tours in Iraq (likely in the early OIF 08-10 timeframe but possibly late OIF 07-09). The units likely to deploy first, should a new set of National Guard brigade deployments begin, are Oklahoma's 45th IBCT, North Carolina's 30th IBCT, and Arkansas's 39th IBCT. The 53rd and 76th IBCTs have also been mentioned as possible candidates, since they deployed early in OIF, although both have since supplied task forces to CJTF Phoenix in Afghanistan. A few National Guard battalions are already slated for deployment without their brigades:

      • 3rd Battalion 116th Infantry Regiment
      • 1st Battalion 158th Infantry Regiment
      • 1st Battalion 160th Infantry Regiment

[edit] Other nations contributing to MNF-I

Division and brigade contributors: The British military commands the Multi-National Division (South-East) (Iraq), which includes UK, Italian, Australian, Romanian, Danish, Portuguese, Czech and Lithuanian troops. The UK itself has about 7,200 personnel serving in Iraq, making it the second-largest contributor of foreign troops to Iraq, behind the United States. Led by the 3rd UK Infantry Division, MND-SE is a division in name only, its one brigade being the British 19th Light Brigade. British troop levels are expected to be halved during 2007.

British troops are organized into six battalion-sized battlegroups, based around the Queen's Royal Lancers in Maysan province, the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in downtown Basra, the 1st Battalion of The Staffordshire Regiment in north Basra, the 1st Battalion of The Royal Green Jackets in south Basra, The Yorkshire Regiment south of the city, and the 2nd Battalion of The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment as a divisional reserve. Within the battlegroups, battalions and regiments are mixed and matched on a task-oriented basis; companies from the 3rd and 7th Battalions of the Black Watch, the 2nd Battalion of The Light Infantry, the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers are alo deployed.

Fire support is provided by elements of the 5th and 40th Regiments of Royal Artillery, and engineering support by the 38th Engineer Regiment Group. Various military police and logistical support units are also attached.

South Korea is the third-largest contributor of foreign troops to MNF-I, with 3,200 troops from the provisional Zaytun Division stationed in the Kurdish city of Irbil. These troops are tasked with reconstruction and rebuilding only.

Since 2003, Poland and Ukraine have held command of Multinational Division Central South, but during 2006 all Ukrainian and many Polish troops were withdrawn. Poland retains command of a skeletal division structure which controls one Polish brigade and one Polish infantry battalion. Other Polish troops make up Military, Border, and Police Transition Teams.

Battalion contributors: Several nations continue to contribute battalion-sized combat task forces to MNF-I. The Republic of Georgia rotates two light infantry battalions into Iraq every six months, one to the city of Baquba and one to Baghdad's International Zone to provide security there. Two nations provide battalions to Britain's MND-SE: Australia, which has deployed training team and a task force of 2nd Cavalry and Royal Australian Regiment troops to Tallil Airbase, and Denmark, which leads the battlegroup north of Basra. El Salvador also contributes a rotating battalion-sized light infantry force to the Polish MND-CS. (See Operation Catalyst for fuller information on Australian deployments.)

Company and smaller contributors: A variety of nations contribute company-sized or smaller elements to MNF-I either for reconstruction, training, or combat. Mongolia and Romania each provide an infantry company to MND-CS, while 53 Lithuanian soldiers are attached to the Danish force and 96 Czech soldiers of the 11th Military Police Contingent are based near Basra. As of December 2006, Bosnia-Herzegovina had also deployed a 43-soldier engineer platoon to Iraq.

[edit] References

    [edit] See also

    • Iraq War
    • Reconstruction of Iraq : the transitional period following the multinational forces invaded Iraq in March 2003.
    • 2003 invasion of Iraq : Comprised the multinational forces entry into Iraq by force and the combat between the old Iraqi army and the Coalition forces.
    • 2003 - 2004 occupation of Iraq timeline : Timeline of events during Multinational force's occupation of Iraq, following 2003 invasion of Iraq, and relevant quotations about nature of occupation from officials
    • 2005 in Iraq : Events in Iraq during the year 2005.
    • Casualties of the conflict in Iraq since 2003 : the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the ensuing 2003 occupation of Iraq, and the continuing coalition presence there have come in many forms, and the accuracy of the information available on different types of casualties varies greatly.
    • 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.
    • Military rule : Military garrisons occupation of all or part of the territory of another nation or recognized belligerent during an invasion.
    • Sectarian violence in Iraq : Events that could lead to an Iraqi civil war.
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