1st Division (Iraq)

diers from the Taji military training base (Camp Taji?)

on January 18, 2005.[3] The State Department claimed
the IIF had 9,159 men assigned as of the Iraq Weekly Status Report for January 12, 2005.[4]
According to Major Gary Schreckengost, a MiTT from
the 1st Divisions 4th Brigade, 2005-06: The 1st Brigade
(original IIF) was considered the 'elite' of the Iraqi Army
and as such, was deployed around the country much like
a re brigade. From 2005-06, most of its battalions were
deployed in and around Ramadi or out on the Syrian border. The 3rd brigade was posted at Habbaniya and the
2nd and 4th brigades were posted in or around Fallujah.
The 4th Brigade was a motorized brigade and mostly held
the area east of Fallujah out to Abu Gharib.

The 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Division took delivery of 10 armored

HMMWVs in March 2006

The division was transferred to the Iraqi Ground Forces

Command on February 15, 2007. The February 2007 release said the Division was headquartered in Habbaniyah,
Al Anbar and operates from Baghdad to Ramadi.[5] All
four brigades of the division were operational when the
division was transferred to the IGFCs control. In 2008
a brigade of the division took part in the Battle of
Basra (2008), which was ocially designated 'Operation Charge of the Knights.' As of September 2008,
the division was commanded by Brigadier General Adel
Abbas.[6]

The 1st Division is a formation of the Iraqi Army.

History

Originally the 1st Division was one of the four initial divisions of the Iraqi Army, active by 1941. It later became
the 1st Mechanised Division, and fought in the Iran-Iraq
War, including at the Second Battle of Al Faw. It was in
Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, fought during the
Battle of Khafji, and was active during the 1990s. At the
beginning of the 2003 invasion of Iraq it was part of the
5th Corps in the Mosul area. It was disbanded with the
rest of the Iraqi Army in May 2003.
The division was reformed c.2005-2007 after the 2003
invasion of Iraq. The 1st Division was originally formed
from the battalions of the Iraqi Intervention Force.

Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of Iraqs interim government announced organizational changes for the countrys security forces, along with a plan for taking on
Iraqs enemies, at a 20 June 2004 Baghdad news conference. Allawi envisions the Iraqi rapid intervention forces
thwarting sabotage elements, especially those who chose
to hide behind innocent Iraqis in our cities and villages.
As a rst order by Iraqs new Ministry of Defense, the An Iraqi soldier from the 1st QRF division examines a mortar
captured during clearing operations in Hayaniya, April 19
all-Iraqi Intervention Forces began patrolling the streets
[1]
of Baghdad on 28 June 2004.
Two battalions of the IIF conducted operations in Najaf The division now acts as part of the Quick Intervention
between September and December 2004. Those same Corps, the Iraqi Armys strategic reserve. As such, as of
two battalions plus another IIF battalion, together with January 2010, they currently have brigades in Mosul and
other Iraqi units, were present during the Second Battle north Diyala.
of Fallujah soon afterwards.[2] The rst signicant troop In June 2014, the group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
increase for the IIF in 2005 was the graduation of 670 sol- (ISIS) attacked parts of northern Iraq. In the process, it
1

was reported that two brigades of the 1st Division were

lost during the ISIS attack. Mitchell Prothero of the McClatchy Foreign Sta reported July 14, 2014 that the 1st
Division also is basically gone, losing two brigades in Anbar province earlier in the year, then two more during last
months Islamic State onslaught, including one brigade
that in the words of the senior Iraqi politician was decimated in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.[7]

Composition

As of January 2010 the divisions dispositions appear to

be:[8]
HQ Camp Fallujah
1st Motorized (AAslt) Brigade - HQ (Brigade Special Troops Battalion), Camp Ali, Ramadi. One battalion at Lake Tharthar
2nd Motorized Brigade - currently battalions at Taji,
Fallujah, and Hylateen (Diyala)
3rd Motorized Brigade - Previously temporarily assigned to 5th Division in Diyala, now relocated to
Mosul
4th Motorized Brigade - Diyala. Partnered with
34th Peshmerga Bde and U.S. 1st Squadron, 14th
Cavalry Regiment since April 2009.
1st Field Engineer Regiment - Habbenayah (former
RAF Habbaniya(?))
1st Transportation and Provisioning Regiment Habbenayah (former RAF Habbaniya(?))

Notes

[1] , accessed 10 February 2010

[2] Anthony Cordesman and Patrick Baetjer, 'Iraqi Security
Forces: A Strategy for Success,' Praeger Security International, Westport, Conn., 2006, p.135
[3] Cordesman and Baetjer, 2006, p.140
[4] Cordesman and Baetjer, p.141-142
[5] MNF-I, Press Release: Iraqi Government and 1st Iraqi
Army Division assumes control, 16 February 2007
[6] Iraqi troops not ready to go it alone, Los Angeles Times,
September 1, 2008
[7] 1st Division, Iraqi Army. Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved
May 25, 2015.
[8] See D.J. Elliott, Iraq Order of Battle for a constantly updated Iraqi Army Order of Battle

EXTERNAL LINKS

4 Further reading
West, Owen. The Snake Eaters: Counterinsurgency
Advisors in Combat. Simon and Schuster, 2012 documents the experiences of two teams of advisors
to 3/3-1 Bn IA from 2005-2007 in Habbaniyah and
Khalidiya

5 External links
Globalsecurity.org, 1st Mechanised Division
LongWarJournal,

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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1st Division (Iraq) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Division_(Iraq)?oldid=674528482 Contributors: Woohookitty, Capt Jim,

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