Establishment of the Iraqi Army

The Iraqi Army is among the oldest troops in the Arab region and its establishment dates back to 1921, during the British mandate over the country. The first fighting regiment was known as the Mussa Al-Kadhum (a Shiite Imam) Brigade and included Iraqi officers and soldiers who had served previously in the Ottoman army. The Iraqi Air Force was established in 1931 followed by the Iraqi Navy in 1937. Starting in 1979, the then Iraqi president Saddam Hussein accorded great attention to the reinforcement of the army, especially when the Iran-Iraq war broke out in 1980. The war lasted 8 years, during which the number of Iraqi troops increased to more than 1 million and distributed over 50 brigades. The most important was the Republican Guard, which had around 150 000 members provided with the most modern weapons. However, the capacity of this well-trained, fully equipped army dwindled after the Iran-Iraq war, the Second Gulf War and the US lead invasion of Iraq in 2003, which dealt the Iraqi Army its final blow.

New Iraqi Army

The rebuilding of the new Iraqi Army began in early 2004 by the recruitment of new troops and enrollment of anti-Saddam Hussein regime members who used to serve in the dissolved Iraqi Army. Four corps were formed in the beginning including the Iraqi National Guard, before the recruitment of additional men that brought the total number of troops to 350 000 distributed over 15 battalions.

The army’s equipment, which was Russian-made in its entirety, was replaced by equipment procured mostly by the US.

Ground Force

The Iraqi Ground Force consists of 340 000 troops distributed as follows:

• 1 Armored Division including 3 Armored Brigades and a Mechanized Infantry Brigade
• 13 Infantry Divisions including 49 Brigades, an Independent Brigade in Baghdad and 2 Presidential Brigades
• 2 Special Forces Brigades

The Iraqi Ground Force has around 450 US-made tanks, an indefinite number of mortars, around 6000 US Humvees and 1500 US armored vehicles.

Air Force

The Iraqi Air Force consists of 6500 members. During its presence in Iraq, the US Army started working on an advanced aerial security system to ward off any potential threats. The following makes part of the Iraqi Air Force:

• 2 Reconnaissance Squadrons consisting of 4 aircrafts.
• 15 Transportation Squadrons including 15 different aircrafts
• 18 F-16 fighter jets
• 26 trainer aircrafts
• 32 helicopters
• Surface-to-air missiles

Naval Force

The Iraqi Naval Force has personnel of 4000. This force lacks equipment as it only has 15 dinghies at Umm Qasr Port to protect oil exportation operations and oversee fishing businesses. The government is planning to purchase 15 gunboats and another 15 for surveillance.