Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20070110- 08
Jan. 10, 2007

1st Iraqi Army Division assumes control of 2nd Brigade
Multi-National Force – West PAO

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – The 1st Iraqi Army Division assumed tactical command of the 2nd Brigade from Regimental Combat Team 5 in Fallujah in a ceremony Jan. 9.
 
At a ceremony celebrating the historic move within the Iraqi Training Center aboard Camp Fallujah members of the brigade staged a brief pass and review as the brigade leadership noted the importance of the transition.

“We will be loyal soldiers to defend our precious country and to implement security and stability,” said Brig. Gen. Khalid Juad Khadum, the commanding general of 2nd Brigade. “And this will hit the pages of history in godly words, and we promise Allah that we will take care of this handover and to protect it, God willing, until the last drop of our blood, and Allah is a witness of what we say.”

The brigade has operated under the direction of RCT-5 for the last year in Fallujah proper and will continue its informal partnership with the regiment’s 1st Battalion, 24th Marines.  Although the ceremony was on Jan. 9, the brigade began operating on Jan 5.
 
“I feel as if I am a proud brother of this brigade,” said Col. Larry Nicholson, the commanding officer of RCT-5. “There is nothing we have not done together.”

“Again, in closing, there are 100 Americans here, and I don’t know if any are as proud as I am,” Nicholson concluded.

Several members of the Fallujah City Council attended the ceremony, including, Mayor Jassim Bedawi al-Essawi, who was elected Aug. 8.

“It shows the responsibility and engagement of the brigade in taking over military affairs in stabilizing the region,” he said through an interpreter.

 Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, the commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), addressed the Iraqi soldiers and Marines present and applauded the progress made by the brigade and the division it recently joined.

 “Today is a most rewarding day for everyone who is here to witness this historic occasion,” he said. “Under the most trying circumstances, this brigade and this 1st Army Division are progressing and winning the battle against the insurgency.”

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