Military

3rd Brigade, Iraqi Army
1st Brigade, 5th Division, Iraqi Army

The 3rd Brigade, Iraqi Army, is assigned to the 1st Division, Iraqi Army. It is composed of 3 maneuver battalions and a Headquarters and Service Company.

The Brigade was originally organized in 2004. On 1 August 2004 soldiers from the 7th Battalion completed the formation of the 3rd Brigade, Iraqi Army. By August 2004 steady growth and rapid progression seemed to be the status of the 3rd Brigade, Iraqi Army, based out of the Kirkush Military Training Base. The 3rd Brigade was at the time composed of Iraqi Soldiers from the 5th, 6th, and 7th Battalions.

Like the rest of the Iraqi Army, the 3rd Brigade was caught up in a major reorganization of the Iraqi Army occured during 2006, following the rapid force generation of new Iraqi Army brigades and the creation of the first additional divisions. The Brigade and its subordinate battalions were redesignated. The Brigade became the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division. Its Battalions were redesignated 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

In 2008, another major change was made, with the redesignation of all the brigades in the Iraqi Army. The decision was made to rationalize all 54 brigades in the Iraqi Army at the time, designating them in sequence starting with the 1st Brigade in the 1st Division. The 3rd Brigade, Iraqi Army designation was revived.