Multi-National Force West

Multi-National Forces West
Multi-National Forces West
	The logo for MNF-W
Active	March 2004 – January 23, 2010
Disbanded	January 23, 2010[1]
Country	United States of America
Allegiance	United States Marine Corps
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Type	Division
Role	Expeditionary combat forces
Size	37,000 (Peak in February 2008)[2]
Part of	Multi-National Force – Iraq, Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Garrison/HQ	Camp Fallujah (2004–2008); Al Asad Airbase (2008–2010)
Engagements	Iraq War – Al Anbar campaign; * Operation Vigilant Resolve; * Operation Phantom Fury
Commanders
Notable; commanders	James T. Conway; John F. Kelly

Multi-National Forces West (MNF-W) or United States Forces West (USF-W) was one of the coalition headquarters under Multi-National Force-Iraq. It was headquartered by either I or II U.S. Marine Expeditionary Force that rotated on a 12-month basis. Their area of operations was primarily the Al Anbar province which includes the cities of Ar Ramadi, Fallujah, Al-Qa'im, and Haditha. The force was the most important U.S. unit to take part in the Iraq War in Al Anbar Governorate.

Among the smaller multinational units operating within MNF-W was a platoon from the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

Commanders

During the Iraq War, the Marine Corps regularly rotated command of MNF-W between the 1st and 2nd Marine Expeditionary Forces.

MEF	Commander	From	To
I MEF	James T. Conway	March 2004	September 2004
I MEF	John F. Sattler	September 2004	February 2005
II MEF	Stephen T. Johnson	February 2005	February 2006
I MEF	Richard C. Zilmer	February 2006	February 2007
II MEF	Walter Gaskin	February 2007	February 2008
I MEF	John F. Kelly	February 2008	February 2009
II MEF	Richard Tryon	February 2009	January 23, 2010

For convenience, these changes of command are listed below and the Marine command in MNF-W is simply referred to as "MEF":

I Marine Expeditionary Force
March 2004 – February 2005 (James T. Conway/John F. Sattler)
March 2006 – February 2007 (Richard C. Zilmer)
February 2008 – February 2009 (John F. Kelly)

II Marine Expeditionary Force
March 2005 – February 2006 (Stephen T. Johnson)
February 2007 – February 2008 (Walter Gaskin)
March 2009 – January 2010 (Richard T. Tryon)

[3][4][5][6]

As the Marine Corps withdrew from Al Anbar Governorate, by September 2009 they were replaced by a single brigade, the 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division. The brigade was bolstered with an additional 16 advisers, though this did not reach the 48 assigned advisors that were supposed to be part of an 'Advise and Assist' brigade.[7]

References

Marines transfer Anbar command, exit Iraq Archived 2010-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
U.S. hands over Anbar, Iraq's once-deadliest region
Schlosser 2010, pp. 239–244
McWilliams 2009, pp. 215, 241 (Vol 1)
"Marines transfer Anbar command, exit Iraq" (Press release). 82nd Airborne Division, United States Army. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
West 2005, p. 55
Gordon, Michael R.; Trainor, Bernard E. (2012). The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. New York: Pantheon Books. p. 603. ISBN 978-0-307-37722-7.

External links

Official Public Website for Multi-National Forces - West

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[1] Marines transfer Anbar command, exit Iraq Archived 2010-02-05 at the Wayback Machine

[CSMonitor_Anbar-2] U.S. hands over Anbar, Iraq's once-deadliest region

[3] Schlosser 2010, pp. 239–244

[4] McWilliams 2009, pp. 215, 241 (Vol 1)

[MarineTransfer-5] "Marines transfer Anbar command, exit Iraq" (Press release). 82nd Airborne Division, United States Army. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2011.

[6] West 2005, p. 55

[7] Gordon, Michael R.; Trainor, Bernard E. (2012). The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. New York: Pantheon Books. p. 603. ISBN 978-0-307-37722-7.