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| Iraq |
| Iraq's first multi-battalion force joins 'Steel Curtain' op |
| 2005-11-08 |
| BAGHDAD — The Iraq Army has launched its first operation using a force of several battalions. Officials said Operation Steel Curtain was testing the Iraq Army's ability to launch battalion-size missions. They said the operation along the border with Syria was the first time that several Iraqi battalions were fighting alongside U.S. forces. Iraq has about 120 combat battalions and a total of more than 211,000 soldiers and police, Middle East Newsline reported. In Anbar, Iraq has operated nearly two divisions, with 10 infantry battalions. "Operation Steel Curtain marks the first large-scale employment of multiple battalion-sized units of Iraqi army forces in combined operations with coalition forces in the last year," the U.S. military said. "This is the largest concentration of Iraqi Army forces to take part in an operation in Al Anbar this year." The military said the Iraqi force also included platoon scouts recruited from the Qaim region. The scouts have been embedded in combat units and were "helping to identify insurgent strong points and areas known to contain these homemade bombs." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 Anonymoose Brigades and divisions are not merely N batalions or regiments: they are combined arms entities while a multi-batalion force useually means mostly pure infantry or pure armor. A brigade is more capable but also requires more skill than a "pure" force of equivalent numbers. |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-11-08 15:42 |
| #2 Hey, 'moose, dont forget that this was written or edited by a journalist. On average these guys neither know nor care about the difference between a BN and a BDE. Its a "just a bunch of fools dressed alike" to your typical J-school grad. Which, although frustrating, suits me fine in the OPSEC sense. |
| Posted by: N guard 2005-11-08 11:28 |
| #1 Interesting choice of words. "Multi-battalion" sounds like "independent" battalions. However, if they are organized together, that is, conducting combined operations in a coordinated fashion, then they are a "brigade". This is important, because brigade operations are very, very different from those of independent battalions. They take a great deal of skill to pull off successfully, and are a major stepping stone to having fully functional organic divisions. For years, the US Army used the organic division task organization, which is optimal for Cold War conventional conflicts. However, the Rumsfeld conversion has re-ordered the Army to function as organic brigades--designed to fight an entirely different kind of conflict. So how are we setting up the task organization of the Iraqi Army? We have already conducted two division-level maneuvers to train Iraqi officers in division operations. This training is priceless, as no other country but Israel in the whole region has the skill to field an organic division--their divisions are paper only. And yet, this latest operation points to establishing brigade-sized operational zones within the country. There doesn't yet seem to be any task ordering high than battalion level, which is confusing. Are they intentionally trying to deceive about the level of Iraqi army organization, or are the Iraqis truly not yet able to function as organic brigades? I doubt the latter, as with as many battalions as they have, and as many skilled US trainers, it seems unreasonable. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-11-08 08:43 |