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Iraq Assumes Control of Its 8th Army Division
Who is the Gen. Othman Farhood guy and who does he really answer to? The Maliki government? The Hakim cabal? The Iranians? Presumably not the Baathists, but ..?IRAQI GROUND FORCES COMMAND ASSUMES COMMAND AND CONTROL OF 8TH IRAQI ARMY DIVISION BAGHDAD The Iraqi Ground Forces Command assumed command and control here today of one of its Iraqi Army divisions from the Multi-National Corps-Iraq, marking the first step toward Iraqi sovereignty over their own armed forces. The 8th Iraqi Army Division, commanded by Maj. Gen Othman Ali Salih Farhood, which had reported to Multi-National Division-Baghdad as a subordinate unit, will now report directly to the IGFC as an adjacent unit to MND-B. It was the first Iraqi Army division to take the lead in its sector on January 27, 2006. In a gradual sequence over the following months, the IGFC will assume control of the remaining nine Iraqi Army divisions. The IGFC was stood up on May 15, 2005 as the Corps-level command for providing command, control and guidance to the 10 Iraqi Army divisions. Over the past year, MNC-I worked closely with the IGFC in a partnership to develop procedures, training and infrastructure that enables the IGFC to effectively command and control maneuver units to provide for Iraqs security. Later this week, the IFGC will join its sister services, the Iraqi Air Force and the Iraqi Navy, in a formal ceremony marking the transition of operational control of Iraqi Armed Forces from Coalition Forces to the Government of Iraq. On May 3, 2006, the IGFC officially opened its Joint Operations Center, a modern, command center in which all elements of the headquarters staff are represented, to monitor and process data from throughout Iraq in real time. Todays assumption of control by the IGFC demonstrates the increased capability of the Iraqi Army to assume control of security tasks and is another significant step toward Iraqi security self-reliance. Posted by: Glenmore 2006-09-05 |
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