National Guard

The Iraqi National Guard (NG; ) was an armed force originally established by the United States Coalition Provisional Authority. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, CPA Administrator Paul Bremer disbanded the apparatus of the Iraqi Armed Forces through Coalition Provisional Authority Order 2. U.S. divisions of Combined Joint Task Force 7 then began recruiting and training auxiliary forces, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, in order to combat the insurgency. History "On 20 June 2004, with the concurrence of the Iraqi Interim Government, the ICDC was redesignated as the Iraqi National Guard (ING)." As the ICDC became the ING, the United States Army was "..ordered to expand their efforts to train and equip the new ING forces. The 1st Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division in particular devoted a significant amount of resources to establishing these units. In ..Tikrit, units of the 1st ID designed a 3-week course that included training on rifle marksmanship, conduct of traffic checkpoints, map reading, basic drill, and first aid. The ING soldiers continued to improve their skills as they conducted joint missions with Coalition forces. Iraqi Colonel Shaker Faris Al Azawi, commander of the 203d ING Battalion, commented, “Our relationship with the Coalition forces is very good. They give us ammunition, supplies, vehicles, and experience, and the training they’ve given us is very important. Because of it, we’re operating at a very high level.” In addition to providing training to the ING, the 1st ID, with support from Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq’s nascent logistics structure," provided "equipment to the new ING units." Despite attacks by the Iraqi insurgency, the Iraqi National Guard was able to recruit many Iraqis from the vast ranks of the unemployed.