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The Origins of the Iraqi Army

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     On 6 January 1921, the Headquarters of the Ministry of Defense was established. Initially, the Army was formed of volunteers between 18 and 40 years old with serving terms ranging from two years for Infantry to three years for the other arms, consisting mainly in those days of Cavalry, Packed Artillery and Animal Transport. On the 28 July, 1921, the First Infantry Regiment was formed and placed under Iraqi Officers that had service records in the Turkish Army. The Army was organized on a Regiment basis at the beginning. This was changed later and the Infantry Brigade was considered to be the standard fighting formation. It was designed and equipped to operate on various types of Iraqi terrain which varied from mountains in the north to deserts and marshes in the south. In mid-1936, though, the Army was reorganized on a Divisional basis, with the First Infantry Division (1ID) and the Second Infantry Division (2ID) being created on the 15 April 1936.         The period
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The Origins of the Iraqi Air Force

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After the creation of the Iraqi Army in 1921, the country decided to establish an air arm to support their ground troops and increase the combat capability. Thinking small at the beginning, Iraq planned to develop its air force depending on their needs and the financial situation of the country. Following an agreement signed with the British in 1924 within the framework of the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of October 1922, the latter committed to withdraw its RAF squadrons from Iraq, being them replaced slowly by Iraqi units. After tough negotiations and several delays which got to put a strain on the already fragile Iraqi-British relations, it was finally agreed that six Iraqi pilots would be trained at the British Air Force College in Cranwell. The names of these students were: Mohammed Ali Jawad, Natiq Mohammed Khalil Al Tai,  Musa Ali Talib (all three in the final year of military school), Nasser Hussein Al Janabi (second year of military school), Hifzi  Aziz (fourth grade of High Sch
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The Origins of the Iraqi Navy

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The Iraqi Navy was founded on 12 August 1937 under the name of Riverine Force, when a group of four British River Gun boats was anchored in Basra. These were named Al Jasi (N.1), That Al Swary (N.2), Janadah (N.3) and Abdul Rahman (N.4). Built by Thornycroft, in Southampton, they were Diesel-engine boats armed with army guns, intended for service on the Tiger and Euphrates rivers with bullet-proof plating. On 5 August 1937, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Rushdi Bin Mohammed was appointed as leader of the riverine force. Headquartered in Baghdad, the Iraqi Navy was originally linked to the general office of the Ministry of Defense and then transferred to Amara on August 30 of the same year. During the period between 1937 and 1958, the Iraqi Navy was only a riverine force carrying out only a few patrol duties along the Shatt Al Arab. These British ships were armed with machine guns and mortars and took part in several clashes with tribesmen in southern Iraq under command of Maj. Gen. Ahmed Rushdi
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