Iraqi National Guard
In January 2005 all Iraqi National Guard units in Iraq were absorbed into the sovereign nation's new army.
In July 2004 the new Iraqi government changed plans to leave the Iraq Civil Defense Corps as a largely passive defense force and converted it to a National Guard.
The 1st Infantry Division hosted a ceremony July 10 for the first class of Iraqi National Guard soldiers to graduate from the ING Training Academy in Tikrit. In the past, training was done "in house" by the separate ING battalions. The 309 graduates completed the 20-day course taught by both coalition and Iraqi instructors. The course is designed after United States Army basic training. ING recruits are instructed on wear of the uniform, military customs and courtesies, drill and ceremony as well as basic rifle marksmanship. However, instruction is based on the Iraqi Army's marching, saluting, and even weapons familiarization on the AK-47. Recruits are also taught first aid, personnel and vehicle search as well as Individual Movement Techniques. The soldiers are recruited by separate battalions throughout the Big Red One's area of responsibility. Each battalion is allocated a certain number of slots per class.
The Iraqi National Guard and Iraqi Police, two of the four Iraq Security Forces, marked a major milestone together early 18 July 2003. For the first time, the Iraqi National Guard and the Iraqi police worked together on a large-scale operation to search for insurgents involved in a recent attack that resulted in one IP officer killed and two others wounded. About 90 Iraqi National Guard soldiers from the 304th Battalion cordoned off a large area of an Al Rashid neighborhood while almost 300 Iraqi Police officers searched for the insurgents. The Iraqi National Guard ran several temporary traffic control points along a major road in the area to make sure the neighborhood search went undisturbed while the Iraqi Police searched the homes. Several illegal weapons were seized by the Iraqi Police during the operation.
