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The Ground Forces Command at Victory Base Complex near Baghdad Airport was the most important fighting formation in the Iraqi Army. The headquarters of the Iraqi Ground Forces Command and the Iraqi Joint Forces Command are the same entity.
Since 2006, and probably up to U.S. withdrawal in 2011, the Ground Forces Command has supervised the bulk of the military units of the army.
On May 3, 2006 a significant command-and-control development took place. The Iraqi Army command and control center opened in a ceremony at the IFGC headquarters at Camp Victory.[1] The IGFC was established to exercise command and control of assigned Iraqi Army forces and, upon assuming Operational Control, to plan and direct operations to defeat the Iraqi insurgency. At the time, the IFGC was commanded by Lt. Gen. Abdul-Qadar. The JHQ-AST (Joint Headquarters Advisory Support Team) had been established in 2004 to guide the IGFC/IJFHQ through this process. The JHQ-AST was a subordinate element of MNSTC-I. The Advisory Support Team's mission was described as to 'mentor and assist the Iraqi Joint Headquarters in order to become capable of exercising effective national command and control of the Iraqi Armed Forces, contributing to the capability development process, and contributing to improving the internal security situation within Iraq in partnership with coalition forces.'[2]
In 2006 the ten planned divisions began to be certified and assume battlespace responsibility: the 6th and 8th before June 26, 2006, the 9th on June 26, 2006, the 5th on July 3, 2006, the 4th on August 8, 2006, and the 2nd on December 21, 2006.
After divisions were certified, they began to be transferred from U.S. operational control to Iraqi control of the IGFC. On 7 September 2006, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed a document taking control of Iraq's small naval and air forces and the 8th Division of the Iraqi Army, based in the south.
At a ceremony marking the occasion, Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq stated "From today forward, the Iraqi military responsibilities will be increasingly conceived and led by Iraqis." Previously, the U.S.-led Multi-National Force Iraq, commanded by Casey, gave orders to the Iraqi armed forces through a joint American-Iraqi headquarters and chain of command. Senior U.S. and coalition officers controlled army divisions but smaller units were commanded by Iraqi officers. After the handover, the chain of command flows directly from the prime minister in his role as Iraqi commander in chief, through his Defense Ministry to an Iraqi military headquarters, the Iraqi Joint Forces Command. From there, the orders go to Iraqi units on the ground. The other nine Iraqi divisions remain under U.S. command, with authority gradually being transferred.
U.S. military officials said there was no specific timetable for the transition. U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said it would be up to al-Maliki to decide "how rapidly he wants to move along with assuming control. ... They can move as rapidly thereafter as they want. I know, conceptually, they've talked about perhaps two divisions a month."[3]
After the 8th Division's transfer on September 7, 2006, the 3rd Division was transferred on December 1, 2006.[4] Another unspecified division also was transferred to IGFC control.[5]
Also transferred to the Iraqi chain of command were smaller logistics units: on November 1, 2006, the 5th Motor Transport Regiment (MTR) was the fifth of nine MTRs to be transferred to the Iraqi Army divisions. 2007 plans included, MNF-I said, great efforts to make the Iraqi Army able to sustain itself logistically.[6]
Transfers of divisions to IGFC control continued in 2007: the 1st Division on February 15, the 10th Division on February 23, and the 7th Division on November 1. The new 14th Division also held its opening ceremony in Basrah on November 14, 2007.[7]
Ministerial Order #151, dated 19 February 2008, directed that the brigades of all the divisions be renumbered sequentially. Instead of each division have 1st/2nd/3rd/4th Brigades, each brigade has a unique identifying number.
From late 2008, United States personnel were worried by Prime Minister Maliki's "attempt to exert control over the Iraqi Army and police by proliferating regional operations commands. Using the Baghdad Operations Command as his precedent, Maliki created other regional commands in Basrah, Diyala, the mid-Euphrates region, and Ninawa, and others would follow. Initially coalition leaders welcomed the idea of regional commands that could create unity of Iraqi effort, but their enthusiasm faded as Maliki began to use the new headquarters to bypass the formal chain of command,"[8] which came to resemble the operating mode of the Saddam Hussein regime.
M6: Communications / IT / Management Service – Staff Maj. Gen. Saad, Iraqi Joint Headquarters M6[9]
Forces under Command
The IGFC does not control all the fighting formations of the Iraqi Army. The Baghdad Operational Command reports separately to the National Operations Center.
"The 9th (Mechanized) Division has the entire army armoured (tank) capability. It is ethnically diverse. Some of the battalions of the 10th Division are manned by Shi’a militia."[10]
It was reported in January 2010 that the Operational Commands were to be the basis for future Iraqi Army corps.[11]
Ninewa Operational Command[13] – Mosul; established December 2007 under Lieutenant General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, who had commanded the 9th Division in Baghdad.[14]
4th Motorised Division – Tikrit – certified and assumed responsibility for most of Salah ad Din Governorate and At-Ta'mim Governorate provinces, including the major cities Samarra and Tikrit, on August 8, 2006.[16] The 4th Division's battalions are former ING units, recruited locally. It is ethnically diverse and has operational control of a number of Strategic Infrastructure Battalions protecting oil pipelines.
5th Infantry Division (Iron) – Diyala Governorate – Division is certified and assumed responsibility for the battle space on July 3, 2006.[17] The 5th Division’s brigade headquarters, and battalions were components of the NIA.
8th Commando Division – Diwaniyah – The 8th Division is composed of former ING units, some of which were formed as early as 2004, but the division headquarters did not assume control of its area of operations until January 2006. As of March 2007, the division commander was Maj. Gen. Othman Ali Farhood.
10th Motorised Division – An Nasiriyah (Tallil) – On February 23, 2007, the 10th Division, at that time based in Basrah, was certified and operational responsibility was transferred to the IGFC. However, since that time, the 14th Division has been formed in Basrah and the 10th Division transferred north to An Nasiriyah.[19] Division commander is General Abdul Al Lateef, as of November 2006.[20][21]
38th Motorised Brigade (HQ Batria Airport, most battalions Al Amarah)(1-10)
39th Infantry Brigade (HQ Samawah) (2-10) – 2nd BN currently attached to the 8th DIV and operating in KHIDIR North BABIL
40th Motorised Brigade (3-10)
41st Motorised Brigade (Majaar al Kabir) – formed in November 2008 (fmr 4-10?)
10th Field Engineer Regiment
10th Transport and Provisioning Regiment (Nasiriyah (Camp Ur))
7th Infantry Division – Ramadi, West Al Anbar Governate – transferred to IGFC, November 1, 2007.[23] The 7th Division was raised in early 2005 to replace the disbanded, Sunni-dominated ING units which proved unreliable.
^For additional views on this formation, see Lieutenant Colonel TP Robinson, 'Illuminating a Black Art: Mentoring the Iraqi Army during Op TELIC 12,' British Army Review, No. 147, Summer 2009, plus another article in the same issue.
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