Iraqi Special Operations Forces

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Iraqi Special Operations Forces
Active	December 26, 2003 - Present
Country	Iraq
Branch	Iraqi Army
Type	Special Forces
Size	Classified
Engagements	Anti-guerilla operations in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom

Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) refers to the Iraqi special forces unit created by Coalition forces after the 2003 invasion. As of March 2008, the force currently consists of a single brigade which in turn is made up of a Iraqi National Counter- Terrorism Force (INCTF) battalion, three Commando battalions, a support battalion and a special reconnaissance unit. The unit falls under the command of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau.

1 History
2 Regional units
3 CT pilot training
4 See also
5 References

[edit] History

Most special operations troops in the old Iraqi army were almost all Sunni Arabs, selected for their loyalty to Saddam Hussein, and sometimes used against their own people. Because of this, the current Iraqi commando force had to be recruited from scratch, mostly from Kurds or Shia Arabs. In November 2005, after two years of training in Jordan with Jordanian and US Army special forces, the Iraqi Special Operations Force had 1440 men trained, composed into two combat battalions and two support battalions.^[1]

[edit] Regional units

Four 440-man commando battalions are currently in formation in Basra, Mosul, Diyala and Al Asad. The battalions at Basra and Mosul achieved Iraqi Operational Control (IOC) in January 2008 and conduct local operations. Regional CT Centers (RCCs), similar to Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) organizations, will be established at all four regional commando bases to develop intelligence on terrorist networks in their region.

[edit] CT pilot training

In February 2008, the Iraqi Air Force, with Coalition Advisors, began night vision goggle (NVG) training as the basis for future counter-terrorism (CT) pilot training. Potential CT pilots and aircrew will undergo NVG flying introduction in order to select the best pilots for advanced CT aviation training as early as April 2008. Selected pilots will continue to log NVG training hours in order to attain a proficiency level that prepares them for Advanced Special Operations specific training as early as late summer 2008. Once fielded, this special operations aviation capability will reside in the Iraqi Air Force's 15 Squadron^[2], which currently fields Mil Mi-17 helicopters^[3]