FOB Iskandariyah - Reestablishment As FOB Iskandariyah

Reestablishment As FOB Iskandariyah

As the site of a major power production center for the greater Baghdad area, the facility was deemed as vital to continued security operations by the United States military and Iraqi security forces. The location also provided a midpoint for traffic between Baghdad and Karbala. Therefore, a permanent tenant was established with the 1st Battalion, 155th Infantry Regiment, 155th Heavy Brigade Combat Team of the Mississippi National Guard during Operation Iraqi Freedom III, beginning in 2005. Operation Iraqi Freedom IV followed in late 2005 with the transfer of authority to 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. A nearby facility for 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 8th Division (Iraqi Army) was established immediately adjacent as Iraqi forces undertook increased organized participation in local security operations. A US Army Military Transition Team was assigned to this facility to oversee training, coordinate combined operations and facilitate additional US military resources. The 1-67th AR contributed to dramatic improvements in the quality of living facilities and security measures protecting the FOB. In late 2006, authority was in turn transferred to 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment (Airborne) of the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom V. This rotation coincided with the Iraq War troop surge of 2007 and the first cooperation with Sunnis formed into what was then locally known as the Concerned Citizens' Program (CCP), part of the wider Sons of Iraq movement. FOB Iskandariyah also experienced a significant increase in forces as 1-501st IN (ABN) expanded into an enlarged battalion task force. Facility improvement continued as well as cooperation with civil authorities to maintain and increase capacity of both the co-located power plant and a nearby gas facility under construction. Attacks against the facility diminished during the period following increased security efforts by US and Iraqi forces.