Multi-National Division (South-East) (Iraq)

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Multi-National Division (South-East) (MND(SE)) is a British commanded division responsible for security in the south east of Iraq. It is responsible for the large city of Basra and its headquarters is located at the city's airport.

In aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq the British 1st Armoured Division and 3rd Mechanised Division were successively responsible for the command and control of the occupation forces in south east Iraq. After 3rd Mechanised Division's tour of duty came to an end it was replaced by the composite headquarters of MND(SE). Since then the division has been made up primarily of British units with other nations in support. Most of the combat firepower of the division has been centred around the British brigade group deployed at the time and the division also contained an Italian brigade for a period.

The area around Basra has been much quieter than the American occupation zone further north but there have been a significant number of incidents in which forces of the division have been killed. It is the current aim of the division to hand over all responsibility for security to Iraqi forces, although it is unclear how long this process will take.

In Bob Woodward's book State of Denial he recounts the experience of Frank Miller, who as of March 2004 was the senior director for defense on the National Security Council. During the course of a fact finding trip to Iraq in that month he visited the leadership of the Multinational Division. Woodward's description is as follows:

Miller moved on to meet with the Polish commander of the Multinational Division, made up of troops from 23 nations. This was the shakiest part of the coalition--but an important fig leaf to suggest that the war was a broad international effort.
The Polish division commander told Miller, "I've got 23 separate national units. They have 23 separate rules of engagement. I pick up the phone, I tell the colonel in charge of the Spanish Brigade what to do. He picks up his phone, calls Madrid, and says, 'I've been told to do this. Is it okay?'"
Miller understood that this menat the Multinational Division had little or no fighting capability.

[edit] Order of Battle

The Division includes UK, Italian, Japanese, Australian, Romanian, Danish, Portuguese, Czech and Lithuanian troops. The UK itself has about 7,200 personnel serving in Iraq, separated into the following battlegroups.

Multinational division (South East) -- Command element of 3 UK Division, Force Protection Company from the 7th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Joint Force EOD Group.
- United Kingdom Brigade -- Headquarters 19 Light Brigade, 209 Signals Squadron, 50 Provost Company Royal Military Police and P Battery, 5 Regiment Royal Artillery.
  - Maysan Battlegroup -- Headquarters and A and B Squadrons from The Queen's Royal Lancers.
  - Provincial Joint Control Centre (Basra City) -- Headquarters, C Company and Fire Support Company from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
  - Basra City North Battlegroup -- Headquarters, A and C Company from the 1st Battalion The Staffordshire Regiment and C Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets.
  - Basra City South Battlegroup -- The south battlegroup includes Headquarters, A and B Companies from 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets, Chindit Company, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment and B Company, 1st Battalion The Staffordshire Regiment.
  - Basra Rural North Battlegroup -- Attached to three companies of Danish soldiers in this battlegroup is A Company, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, also known as The Black Watch.
  - Basra Rural South Battlegroup -- Composed of Headquarters and A, B, and C companies of The Yorkshire Regiment, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and 38 Battery, 40th Regiment The Royal Artillery.
  - Force Reserve -- Units held in reserve for MND-SE include Headquarters, Arnhem Company and Blenheim Company from the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, and Egypt Squadron 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.
  - Rear Operations Battlegroup -- This battlegroup is made up of Headquarters, 6/36 Battery and 137 Battery of the 40th Regiment The Royal Artillery, H Squadron, Joint CBRN Regiment, and A and B Companies of the 2nd Battalion The Light Infantry
  - 38 Engineer Regiment Group -- This group includes Headquarters, 11 Field Squadron, 25 Field Squadron and 32 Headquarters and Support Squadron of 38 Engineer Regiment and 539 Assault Squadron from the Royal Marines.
  - National Support Element -- The support element, likely based at Shaiba Logistics Base, includes Headquarters and 1, 15, 28, 94 and 98 Squadrons from the 19 Combat Service Support Battalion.