Non-US Forces in Iraq - 24 February 2004

[BlackRain]

Non-US Forces in Iraq - 24 February 2004

The size and capabilities of the Coalition forces involved in operations in Iraq has been a subject of much debate, confusion, and at times exageration. The Bush Administration and Central Command maintain that that there are roughly 34 countries involved in Coalition efforts, including Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

In fact, there are only 34 countries participating in the coalition, as Canada, while listed on the CJTF-7 page has not made a contribution to Operation Iraq Freedom, though it has supported operations in Afghanistan and the Global War on Terrorism.



Countries With Units in Iraq

Country ~ Current Personnel
United Kingdom 11,000
Poland 2,400
Italy 2,700
Ukraine 2,000
Spain 1,300
Netherlands 1,100
Australia 1,000
South Korea 700
Romania 700
Bulgaria 470
Denmark 496
Thailand 460
Honduras 370
El Salvador 360
Hungary 300
Dominican Republic 300
Nicaragua 230
Singapore 200
Mongolia 180
Azerbaijan 151
Norway 150
Latvia 121
Portugal 128
Lithuania 105
Slovakia 105
Philippines 96
Czech Republic 80
Japan ~75
Albania 70
Georgia 70
New Zealand 60
Estonia 55
Kazakhstan 29
Macedonia 28
Moldova 24
TOTAL 26,500

[Hellman109]

I presume this is military personel?

No contractors or mercenaries?

But yeah less then you would think by a long way... more countries though

[squeak]

Being a NZer I know we have 61 personell in Iraq at the moment operating with NZDF. Most are Engineers and are building stuff for the Iraqis. Based somewhere in the South of Iraq, they build stuff.
However our left government (I hate them) have had thoughts about possibly pulling them out of Iraq. It seems they won't....yet. And there has been mention of sending combat troops to Iraq. That is most unlikely as we have a small army. (we are a small country)
But we have just sent another round of Troops to A-Stan. Plus we have some stationed in the Solomon Islands.

[flickme]

I am not kidding around here but i seriosly did not know Mongolia had much of a military.

[BlackRain]

TOTAL ~ 26,300
Peacekeeping Operations BN [Mongolia] ~ 180
U/I Hospital [ROK] ~ ???
1100th Const. & Eng. Spt. Group [ROK] ~ ???
U/I Military Police Unit [Czech] ~ 80
Telemark Engineer Sq [Norway] ~ 104
U/I Chemical Warfare Co [Slovakia] ~ 105
U/I SOF Unit [Macedonia] ~ 28
U/I SOF Unit (w/ 101 ABN) [Albania] ~ 70
U/I Unit [Latvia] ~ 121
U/I Unit [South Korea] ~ 700
U/I Unit [Thailand] ~ 460

Joint Task Force [Australia] ~ 1,000
elements, Japanese Self Defense Force ~ 75
elements, Danish [DANCON/IRAK] ~ 496
U/I Support Unit ~ 61

Danish BN [w/Lithuanian soldiers] 446

Multi-National Division (South-East)

3 UK Armoured Division ~ 11,000
elements, 14 Signal RGT
elements, 16 Signal RGT
elements, 30 Signal RGT
42 Engineer Regiment (Geographic)
U/I Engineers

20 Armoured BDE
Queen's Royal Hussars Challenger 2
1st BN, The Light Infantry ? - Warrior
1st BN, The Royal REGT of Wales ? - Warrior
2nd BN, The Parachute REGT
1st BN, The Royal Scots
1st BN, The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
26 REGT Royal Artillery
35 Engineer REGT
elements, 9th/12th Royal Lancers CVR(T)
Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia)
TF Rake (w/ 35 ENG) [New Zealand]

4 General Support REGT, RLC
22 Field Hospital
elements, 33 Engineer REGT (Explosive Ordnance Disposal)
17 Port & Maritime REGT
10 Transport REGT, RLC
Element, 11 EOD RGT RLC
1 REGT, Royal Military Police
23 Pioneer REGT, RLC
24 REGT, RLC
5 General Support Medical REGT, RAMC

Sassari BDE [Italy] ~ 3,000
U/I NBC Co, 7th NBC BN [Italy]
U/I Co, 1st Lagunari Amphib Infantry BN [Italy]
Elements, 9th "Col Moschin" Special Forces BN [Italy]
U/I Military Police Co [Romania]
U/I Military Police Co [Portugal]
U/I Co, 7th Signal BN [Italy]
18th Mech Infantry BN [Italy]
U/I Sq, 19th Armored Cavalry BN [Italy]
21st Combat Engineer BN [Italy]
6th Transport BN[Italy]
811 Infantry BN (Mech) [Romania]
U/I BN, 2nd Carabinieri BDE [Italy] ~ 400

1st BN Royal Netherlands Marine Corps ~ 1,100
11 Infantry Co
12 Infantry Co
13 Infantry Co
Helo Det.
U/I Logistics Unit

Multi-National Division (Central South)

12 Mechanized BDE [Poland] ~ 2,400
10 Mechanized BN [10 ACD Poland]
U/I Bulgarian Elements ~ 470
811 Infantry BN [ROM] ~ 400
U/I Hungarian Elements
elements, Grand Duchess Birute Motorised Infantry BN [Lithuania] ~ 45
CIMIC BN [Philippines]

U/I BDE [Plus Ultra - Spain] ~ 2,500
U/I Spanish Elements ~ 1,300
Xatruch Battalion [Honduras] ~ 370
Cuzcatlan Battalion [El Savadoran] 360
U/I Nicaraguan Elements ~ 230
U/I Dominican Republic Elements ~ 300

elements, 5th Separate Mechanized BDE [Ukraine] ~ 2,000 60 - BTR-80
11 - BRDM-2
51st Separate Mechanized BN BTR-80
52nd Separate Mechanized BN BTR-80
19th Separate Special BN

elements, 6th Separate Mechanized BDE [Ukraine] 60 - BTR-80
11 - BRDM-2
61st Separate Mechanized BN BTR-80
62nd Separate Mechanized BN BTR-80
63rd Separate Mechanized BN BRDMs

[BlackRain]

New Zealand and Iraq

New Zealand's Labor government said Friday it would withdraw the country's small contingent of 60 military engineers from Iraq in September 2004.

[Dave the Dawg]

As I told the person who updates that list in a series of e-mails back in February, there are a fair number of errors. Most were fixed, but at least one remains. February-March was the timeframe for most countries to rotate their troops. The Ukrainian 5th Separate Mechanized Brigade was in the process of being replaced by the 6th Separate Mechanized Brigade. 5ombr is no longer in Iraq.

Also, since their last update, the Royal Netherlands Marines handed over NLDETIRAK (Netherlands Detachment in Iraq) to the Royal Netherlands Army. SFIR-3, the third deployment, is a reinforced infantry battalion whose main component is 2 mechanized infantry companies from the 42nd Pantserinfanteriebataljon Limburgse Jagers and 1 air assault company from the 12th Infanteriebataljon Luchtmobiel Regiment van Heutsz. There is also an engineer company and a headquarters and support company. The RNLAF has a detachment with 3 Chinooks and the Koninklijke Marechaussee has two detachments, one acting as MPs for the battalion and the other working with the Iraqi Police.

There have been a few other changes too, but it is hard to keep up.

[BlackRain]

Thanks for the update.

It is hard to keep track on those participating in Afghanistan as well. There are plenty of press reports of countries that pledged troops, supplies, or money to the effort. However, nailing down who actually followed through has been a little bit more difficult to ascertain.

Example:

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan

As of February 14 2002:


Eighteen countries are contributing to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan sanctioned by the UN Security Council (UNSCR 1386) on Dec. 20, 2001: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey. France, Italy, Germany and Britain will be the main contributors. Combined, the ISAF is expected to grow to about 5,000 troops.

Though Canada, Jordan, Malaysia and Argentina have offered troops, Britain has determined that their forces do not correspond to the immediate needs of the ISAF. Canadian Defense Minister Art Eggleton stated that rather than providing an infantry battalion, Canada will contribute by send in 750 troops to Afghanistan in mid-February to support U.S. forces in the Kandahar region.



Below are details of contributions by the participating countries.

Austria: The country will provide 60 troops. According to Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, Austrian troops will remain in Afghanistan for six months. About 4.5 million euros have been set aside for Austrian participation in Afghan peacekeeping.

Belgium: According to Belgian authorities, the country will contribute C-130 planes to transport troops and military material.

Britain: With Maj. Gen. John McColl commanding the ISAF, British troops will dominate the ISAF deployment, with up to 1,800 military personnel. The multinational Brigade Headquarters will be centered around the 16 Air Assault Brigade. Britain's Parachute Regiment will also form one of the two infantry battle groups. Troops will also provide engineer, medical, logistics, policing and air transport support. Britain will lead the ISAF for the first three months until leadership is handed over to another country, most likely Turkey.

Bulgaria: The NATO candidate country has offered 20 soldiers to provide logistics support.

Denmark: 48 personnel will participate in a contingent with Germany and the Netherlands. Denmark will provide explosive ordnance disposal specialists.

Finland: Around 50 soldiers will participate in civil operations under the title of Civil Military Cooperation.

France: Around 550 French troops - mostly members of 21st Frejus infantry regiment but also including engineers and members of a flying hospital team - are expected to be deployed. France will provide an infantry unit, reconnaissance squadron and support troops.

Germany: The country is offering a contingent of around 800-1,000, mainly drawn from the 31st Airborne Brigade. Another possibility is for Germany to offer up to 1,200 troops in a joint contingent with Denmark and the Netherlands. Germany will lead the main infantry support.

Greece: The country will send 124 troops in late January in a three-month mission in Afghanistan. Greece will supply engineers, security agents, and two C-130 aircrafts, in addition to personnel and material needed for handling engines.

Italy: Around 350 soldiers will participate in infantry units and an engineer group, and provide air transport support.

Netherlands: Around 150 troops will participate in the German-led infantry battalion.

New Zealand: The only non-European country participating in the ISAF, New Zealand will contribute 25 supplementary soldiers to the mission in February. It will also supply a Hercules aircraft for the World Food Program operating in Afghanistan.

Norway: The country will send four F-16 combat planes and 50 to 70 troops to Afghanistan by the beginning of February. If F-16s are actually used in a military operation, it would mark the first time since World War II that Norwegian planes would have participated in a bombardment mission abroad. Norway also announced on Dec. 18 that it will send explosive ordnance disposal troops to the environs of the airport in Kandahar.

Portugal: The Superior Council for National Defense said Portugal will participate in humanitarian aid operations. It will send one Hercules C-130 with 17 crew members, as well as a team of two physicians, three nurses and three aid workers.

Romania: The country will provide a C-130 Hercules, as well as 48 soldiers for policing and air transport support. Romania is seeking to boost its candidacy to NATO through its participation in the ISAF.

Spain: The country's contribution will grow to around 700 soldiers who will stay for an initial mandate of three months. Spain will provide logistics, helicopter, engineer, air transport, and explosives ordnance disposal support.

Sweden: A group of up to 45 information specialists are likely to be dispatched.

Turkey: The only Muslim country to take part in the ISAF, Turkey will initially deploy 261 soldiers in the first phase. Among them are six officers who will serve at the headquarters of the ISAF. If and when it assumes command of the ISAF from Britain in late March, Turkey will expand its contingent to between 800 and 1,000 personnel, including an infantry battalion. Ankara shares a history of friendly relations with Kabul.

[Royal]

There is at least one Canadian SNCO that I am aware of attached to a British unit there - as there were with both British and US units during the initial combat phases.

I'm sure there are other similar anomalies.

[ZoneOne]

I remember seeing in one of Todays pics -- i think yesterday (Monday the 19th)

that Blackwater's personal made up the 3rd largest group of people

first ofcourse would be the U.S., second, Britian, and 3rd is supposed to be Blackwater.

If its true I think its pretty funny that the U.S. "contractors" (lol, they are F***ing mercs) in some way or another is making up the largest percentage when there are many, many, other militaries there.

[EvanL]

There is a Canadian general in command of the 3ID in Iraq i think.
I cant remember hiis name but its something Polish.
If anyone can remember that would be great.

[M1A2U2]

I am not kidding around here but i seriosly did not know Mongolia had much of a military.

Actually there was a recent article in the magazine "combat and survival" about mongolia in Iraq. They are in southern Iraq under control of the Spanish I believe. They had some pretty cool pictures. It said they were the best Mongolia had to offer. Their shock troops if you will. They even had their own camo patter and kevlar helmets.

[Dave the Dawg]

I am not kidding around here but i seriosly did not know Mongolia had much of a military.

Actually there was a recent article in the magazine "combat and survival" about mongolia in Iraq. They are in southern Iraq under control of the Spanish I believe. They had some pretty cool pictures. It said they were the best Mongolia had to offer. Their shock troops if you will. They even had their own camo patter and kevlar helmets.
Search for Mongolia or Mongolian. There is a thread on them I started a while back. The photos are from the Mongolian Armed Forces server, so they are probably still there.

[Dave the Dawg]

Thanks for the update.

It is hard to keep track on those participating in Afghanistan as well. There are plenty of press reports of countries that pledged troops, supplies, or money to the effort. However, nailing down who actually followed through has been a little bit more difficult to ascertain.

Afghanistan is essentially three missions:

1. ISAF (Kabul area peacekeeping mission)
2. Afghan National Army training program
3. Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) (combat and reconstruction operations throughout the country).

ISAF has been broadened to take over the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Kunduz. Other PRTs remain as part of OEF.

Within OEF, troop contributions fall into four general categories: conventional combat forces; combat support and combat services support (CS/CSS); special operations forces; and air forces. There are also, roughly, two phases: the initial attack and defeat of the Taliban regime and destruction of al-Qa'ida infrastructure; and the ongoing pacification and reconstruction operations. Some countries contributed in both phases and in several categories.

For conventional combat forces (conventional in a broad sense), in phase one there were the UK Royal Marines and the Canadian PPCLI Battle Group. In phase two there was the Italian TF Nibbio and 4-5 Romanian rotations. Each of these was essentially a battalion-sized deployment.

For special operations forces, in phase one there were: British, Danish, German, Canadian, New Zealand, Norwegian, Australian, Polish and Turkish SOF. In phase two, so far we have had British, French, Australian, Italian, Lithuanian, Czech and Jordanian SOF (and possibly others unacknowledged publicly).

Close air support has come from Britain, France, Canada, Australia, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Among those contributing CS/CSS forces are or were Russia, Jordan, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania, South Korea, Egypt and several others.

[Haiw]

Also, since their last update, the Royal Netherlands Marines handed over NLDETIRAK (Netherlands Detachment in Iraq) to the Royal Netherlands Army. SFIR-3, the third deployment, is a reinforced infantry battalion whose main component is 2 mechanized infantry companies from the 42nd Pantserinfanteriebataljon Limburgse Jagers and 1 air assault company from the 12th Infanteriebataljon Luchtmobiel Regiment van Heutsz. There is also an engineer company and a headquarters and support company. The RNLAF has a detachment with 3 Chinooks and the Koninklijke Marechaussee has two detachments, one acting as MPs for the battalion and the other working with the Iraqi Police.

There have been a few other changes too, but it is hard to keep up.
Geez what does a Dutch guy have left to ad... :D
Well, just so you know, the Koninklijke Marechausse is just the Dutch MP unit.

[Royal]

Last time I checked there was still a Gurkha BG in the 'stan in the PRT role in Mazar and with elements in Kabul. There are also other (non SF) UK elements in theatre.

[Garibaldi]

Non-US Forces in Iraq - 24 February 2004

The size and capabilities of the Coalition forces involved in operations in Iraq has been a subject of much debate, confusion, and at times exageration. The Bush Administration and Central Command maintain that that there are roughly 34 countries involved in Coalition efforts, including Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

In fact, there are only 34 countries participating in the coalition, as Canada, while listed on the CJTF-7 page has not made a contribution to Operation Iraq Freedom, though it has supported operations in Afghanistan and the Global War on Terrorism.



The amount, quality and international relevance of the countries involved shows the full support of the international community.
Sleep well, America, because the Dominican Republic and Macedonia are guarding you...

[Dave the Dawg]

Last time I checked there was still a Gurkha BG in the 'stan in the PRT role in Mazar and with elements in Kabul. There are also other (non SF) UK elements in theatre.
There are Gurkhas from 2RGR in the UK Afghanistan National Army Training Team, the UK contribution to the ANA training program. Here, a Gurkha receives an Army Commendation Medal from Brigadier General Thomas P. Mancino, Commanding General of Coalition Joint Task Force Phoenix and 45th Infantry Brigade. CJTFP runs the ANA traning program.
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/gurkha/images/DSC_0026.jpg
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/gurkha/images/DSC_0032.jpg

[Marsuitor]

Norway's contribution has also changed alot since 2002.
There are now three units in place, an army surgical unit, a CIMIC element and the Telemark Taskforce on peacekeeping duties. The fighterplanes are long gone, and so are the MCT's.

Some pictures courtesy of the offical Defence webpage;
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00034/370__bil__Bilde_3_34446a.jpg
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00038/Multikj_ret_y-370_38345a.jpg
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00038/Gev_rlagene-370_38344a.jpg
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00038/Atle_gir-370_38343a.jpg
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00035/Frode_og_Grandhagen-_35368a.jpg
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00035/OP_TOCA-370_35073a.jpg
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00035/OP_TOCA6-370_35076a.jpg
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00032/biler_p__flyplass-37_32923a.jpg

FAC team conducting an excercise:
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00039/FAC-Venter-flyene_39299a.jpg
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00039/FAC-Forstemann-ut_39298a.jpg
http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00039/FAC-TroppssjefenTxt_39300a.jpg

[Marmot1]

I remember that one Mogolian guard shoot dead 2 suicide bombers before they reached polish base with cars and then received comendation and some gift from general Bieniek, so I think that Mongolians are attached to polish troops... but not sure..

[Dave the Dawg]

I was going to say I had erroneously described the ANA Traning Program as being a US/UK/France only operation, but on checking, I realized I never described it.

The program includes basic training of battalions for the ANA, training of NCOs and officers and specialized training such as medical and signals. Teams accompany and visit ANA units once trained on deployments for refresher and additional training.

The US, UK and France have been the lead elements of this program since its inception, but several other countries are also involved (as is evident from the number of flagpoles in the picture above). These include Germany, Spain and Bulgaria, among others.

Another Gurkha instructor:
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/DIO6/images/Dove%20Ramesti%20and%20Spooner%20014.jpg

Here are Mongolian artillery instructors:
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/D30%20Howitzer/images/DSCF0724.jpg
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/D30%20Howitzer/images/DSCF0717.jpg
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/D30%20Howitzer/images/DSCF0720.jpg
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/D30%20Howitzer/images/DSCF0755.jpg

Romanians and Germans working with Afghans training on the T-62:
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/T62/images/DSC_0155.jpghttp://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/T62/images/DSC_0162.jpg

Bulgarians at an awards ceremony:
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/Bulgarian%20Awards%20Ceremony/images/DSC_0020.jpg
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/Bulgarian%20Awards%20Ceremony/images/DSC_0086.jpg
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/Bulgarian%20Awards%20Ceremony/images/DSC_0110.jpg

Coalition Joint Task Force Phoenix's senior French and American officers at the inauguration of the ANA's Command and General Staff College:
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/CSGS/images/INAUGURATION%20EEM-70.jpg
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/CSGS/images/INAUGURATION%20EEM-48.jpg

US, French and Mongolian soldiers at Mongolian Lunar News Years festivities...
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/mongolian/images/Mongolian%2002.jpg

...where a traditional Mongolian meal was served:
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/mongolian/images/Mongolian%2003.jpg

More French soldiers, including Lt. Colonel Hanus:
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/DIO6/images/DIO%206%20001.jpg
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/DIO6/images/DIO%206%20005.jpg
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/DIO6/images/LTC%20Hanus.jpg


And, of course, Geraldo Rivera:
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/troops/images/19.jpg

And Henry Rollins, formerly of Black Flag:
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/camp/images/1.jpg

How's that for a live fire range:
http://tfphoenix.omd.state.ok.us/ANA%20Livefire/images/2F985672.jpg

[Haiw]

The US, UK and France have been the lead elements of this program since its inception, but several other countries are also involved (as is evident from the number of flagpoles in the picture above). These include Germany, Spain and Bulgaria, among others.
Don't nail me down on it, but I'm fairly sure that Dutch SF trained the Pathfinders unit of the ANA.