Posted on 12/15/2009 11:28:06 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The Iraqi Army has come a long way since 2003, when the old, Sunni Arab dominated force was disbanded, and a new one, loyal to a democratic government, and led by newly recruited and trained officers, was built from scratch. Because of the Sunni Arabs loyal to Saddam (and Sunni Arab rule) fought a four year terror campaign, while the army was forming, the best troops were formed into special "intervention" units. This resulted in an army organization consisting of one "Intervention Corps" and three other corps of lesser quality. Total manpower is about 250,000 troops. Most divisions have four brigades, and a total strength of about 12,000 troops. The 1st Intervention Corps consists of the two motorized, one infantry and one armored divisions. One of the motorized corps is the also known as the Reaction Force Division. This is considered the most effective division in the army, and one to be used for the most difficult situations. Think of this corps as the new "Republican Guard."
The other three corps are named after the part of the country they are based in.
The Northern Corps has two motorized divisions and an infantry division. Two divisions of Kurdish troops will, eventually, come under army control as mountain divisions.
The Central Corps is the area around Baghdad, and the thinly populated Anbar Province to the west. This corps as the 1st and 2nd Presidential Brigades (for guarding senior officials) The Baghdad (56th) Brigade (for assisting with security in the city), two motorized divisions, one infantry division and one commando division.
The Southern Corps has three motorized divisions, with an infantry division being formed.
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
And I was always optimistic....even in the darkest days.
The biggest test is yet to come. We still have the problem of Kirkuk.Barham Salih, Prime Minister for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two main political parties controlling the Kurdish Autonomous Region, said on January 26, 2004 that Kirkuk was originally a Kurdish city; it belonged to Kurds rather than to the Iraqi government, and only its oil made it a source of tension.
The fact that multiple mortars and rockets aren't daily occurrences and parks, movie theaters, shops and cafes are bustling and alive again is such a significant improvement over the early days.
Example: We could not move in and out of Taji in '04 by any other means but helicopters because it was so dangerous around there.
I went there again in September of this year by vehicle for an agricultural visit and it was calm and peaceful. I stood in a place where they were very likely launching mortars from at the base where I was in '04.
Iraq is going in the right direction. It's just going to take time.
Totally agree. Same thing up in Tal Afar, would not dream of walking the streets without a BN in support. Now it is just a normal city, with an extremely low threat to USF. IA is getting better, but slowly.
Always appreciate your input and updates.
I imagine the Turks will have a big problem with that after we leave.
His equipment numbers are all off, as his discriptive of the OOB, sloppy reporting all around.
E.G. The Quick Intervention Corps [not 1st] is:
1st Motorized Division based in E Anbar,
7th Motorized Division based in W Anbar,
4th Motorized Division based in Salahadin, and
9th Armored Division based in N Baghdad.
The other three corps have not been formaly organized.
“Central Corps” is a placeholder name for a future corps to be organized in Diyala [not Anbar] and Baghdad.
Same for Northern and Southern “Corps”.
Even the QIC is not formally organized, still forming.
In addition to the two Kurdish Divisions that have been hung-up in politics for two years now, the IA plans to add 4 other Divisions. 20 total.
And 1st Div is not like Republican Guards. That is the role of the Presidential Brigades. Pretorian Guard.
And the number of Emergency Bns and Brigades is considerably larger. At least 90 identified.
The ISF OOB is maintained at my site.
http://home.comcast.net/~djyae/site/?/home/
Iraq Comes Back [with my notes]
December 15, 2009: The Iraqi Army has come a long way since 2003, when the old, Sunni Arab dominated force was disbanded, and a new one, loyal to a democratic government, and led by newly recruited and trained officers, was built from scratch. Because of the Sunni Arabs loyal to Saddam (and Sunni Arab rule) fought a four year terror campaign, while the army was forming, the best troops were formed into special “intervention” units. This resulted in an army organization consisting of one “Intervention Corps” and three other corps of lesser quality. Total manpower is about [over] 250,000 troops. Most divisions have four brigades, and a total strength of about 12,000 troops. [There are no formally commisioned corps; if he had looked beyond the index page, he would have seen the words “planned” all over the place.]
The 1st Intervention Corps [Called the Quick Intervention Corps; there are no numbered or commisioned corps in the IA.] consists of the two motorized,[3] one infantry [0]and one armored divisions. One of the motorized corps is the also known as the Reaction Force Division. This is considered the most effective division in the army, and one to be used for the most difficult situations. Think of this corps as the new “Republican Guard.”[Wrong; the Presidentials are the new RG. This is more like the old IA’s III Corps.]
The other three corps are named after the part of the country they are based in. [Only one corps is named and it does not have an HQ yet. The other names are placeholders pending formation of corps. That would be apparent if he had read the OOB vice just the index.]
The Northern Corps has two motorized divisions [3] and an infantry division [0]. Two divisions of Kurdish troops will, eventually, come under army control as mountain divisions. [Most under NiOC]
The Central Corps is the area around Baghdad, and the thinly populated Anbar Province [No. Diyala to the east.] to the west. This corps as the 1st and 2nd Presidential Brigades (for guarding senior officials[President/VPs; becoming a Div]) The Baghdad (56th) Brigade [probably part of a new forming Div] (for assisting with security in the city [IZ Security]), two motorized divisions [3], one infantry division [0] and one commando division [moving south as the new divs form]. [Forces under NOC, BOC and DOC.]
The Southern Corps has three motorized divisions, with an infantry division [Mech Div forming and another planned.] being formed. [Forces under KOC and BaOC.]
There are other security forces, mainly four divisions of Federal Police [5th forming], the Counter-Terror Command (with seven commando [5 cdo, 1 recon, 1 ICTF, plus 8 STs forming or planned] battalions and support troops), the Border Police [5 Divs] and half dozen battalions worth of “Emergency Police” (SWAT, riot control) [over 90 bns; he has confused the ERB/MoI SOF with the emergency police] distributed around the country. These other security forces are nearly as large as the army, [twice as large in manpower] but are not as heavily armed, or trained for heavy combat. [FP is trained as infantry, wartime role. So is DBE.]
The navy is currently, basically a coast guard. The air force consists of about a hundred transports, helicopters and recon aircraft. The 140,000 U.S. troops [115,000] are mainly deployed in bases around Baghdad, and northern cities.
Even the army does not have a lot of heavy weapons. There are only about 300 old T-72 tanks [110 T72, 72 T55, and 22 M1A1 = ~200 total tanks], and lots of newer armored hummers. [about 9,000-10,000; no clear number on destroyed.] Thousands of new armored vehicles are on order [258 more M1A1, 400 Stryker, 420 BTR4 does not make “Thousands”. Negotiations and press speculations do not mean actual sales.]. Compared to Saddam’s force, the NCOs and officers (mostly from the Shia Arab majority), have less time in uniform, but are better trained. The Iraqis have learned a lot about fighting from their American mentors. For a long time, Iraqis were considered the most ineffective military forces in the region. Not so much, not anymore.
This is why I do not consider Strategy Page a credible source. No source references and wildly inaccurate.
I know Mosul still has the occasional flare-up and Diyala Province has a way to go yet, but it does seem to be going in the right direction.
Baghdad is the same...mostly calm, but when there is an event, it tends to be particularly nasty.
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