There And Back Again For U.S. Military In Iraq
U.S. soldiers patrol the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and U.S. troops north of the capital Baghdad. Taji is one of an eventual five sites where the U.S. and allied countries aim to train 5,000 Iraqi military personnel every six to eight weeks for combat against the so-called Islamic State. Ali al-Saadi /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
U.S. soldiers patrol the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and U.S. troops north of the capital Baghdad. Taji is one of an eventual five sites where the U.S. and allied countries aim to train 5,000 Iraqi military personnel every six to eight weeks for combat against the so-called Islamic State.
Three years after the U.S. military officially withdrew from Iraq, 2,000 U.S. troops are back. They're restoring the old buildings they'd left behind and renewing contacts with Iraqi officers they knew before.
They're also taking incoming rocket fire at their bases.
This week began an ambitious training program to put 5,000 Iraqi soldiers through boot camp every six weeks.
It is a little spooky to walk out there and ... things are pretty much exactly as people pulled out.
- Maj. Patrick Kiley
Operation Inherent Resolve was designed by the U.S. to build a coalition of states to strike back against the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, in Iraq and Syria. The operation has seen a return of U.S. troops to Iraq, mainly as advisers and trainers. Another 1,000 are expected in the coming weeks.
Many of those troops have deployed here before, and have mixed feelings about coming back to a country where America spent years at war and where many believe they had helped create a stable country.
Their commander is Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard, and one recent evening he flew by helicopter to the military base Taji, just north of Baghdad, to meet about 180 U.S. troops stationed there.
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There And Back Again For U.S. Military In Iraq