British withdrawal from Basra begins
A Military Operations news article, 1 Apr 09

British forces marked the beginning of their final withdrawal from southern Iraq yesterday with a ceremony which saw the lowering of the British Flag.

With the Iraqi Security Forces now in control of Basra and British military tasks in southern Iraq accomplished, the British withdrawal began yesterday, Tuesday 31 March 2009, when, at a special ceremony, Major General Andy Salmon handed over his command as General Officer Commanding Multi-National Division (South East) to Major General Michael Oates of the US Army who now assumes command of the newly-formed division, Multi-National Division (South).

The final British tasks were to train the Iraqi Army's 14 Division, and get both Basra International Airport and the port of Umm Qasr up and running. Those tasks have now been completed and the small number of American troops who will be in southern Iraq after British troops leave will continue the limited oversight of the Iraqi Security Forces, as they continue to develop.

Yesterday's ceremony, which saw the lowering of the British Flag of the Amphibious Force and the American 10th Mountain Division Flag raised while the band of the Royal Marines played rousing military music, was attended by many senior officers and VIPs from the UK, US and Iraq, including the UK Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, and United States Army General Raymond Odierno, Commanding General of the Multi-National Force in Iraq.

Speaking at the ceremony, General Odierno said:

"I am grateful not only for the outstanding accomplishments of the brave troopers of the United Kingdom but for the courage and selfless dedication of all the United Kingdom forces who served in Iraq and for the unwavering commitment of the British people in the cause of liberty around the world. Over the past six years our nations and our militaries have supported each other without fail through many challenging times… The people of Iraq have also found no better friend, and no better, more reliable partner than the United Kingdom.

"The accomplishment of the British forces across Iraq, and especially here in Basra, have been nothing short of brilliant. I want to take this opportunity today to say to all the brave men and women of the UK who have served, and continue to serve, in Iraq, thank you. None of this has been easy. We have faced tremendous adversity, but time and again you have risen to meet every challenge.

"Through your remarkable ingenuity and gallant determination you have restored hope where chaos reigned. You have given the people of Iraq the opportunity to build a bright and prosperous future here in this land rich with history. As the Iraq people continue to stand on their own, we will support them, and we will stand together, shoulder to shoulder, united against our common enemies and committed to peace and prosperity. I'm personally honoured to work with our British and Iraqi partners in this global endeavour."

General Nasier Abadi, Vice Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Joint Forces, also attended the ceremony. He said:

"It is an honour to be asked to speak on behalf of the Chief of Staff at this historic ceremony. It marks the completion of Multi-National Division (South East)'s mission and the transfer of authority to a Multi-National Division (South). I would like to start by echoing the thanks extended to the United Kingdom by General Odierno for its support to the coalition and to my country.

"I thank the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom for the crucial role they played both in the initial liberation of my country from the grip of dictatorship and in the subsequent reconstruction of our institutions.

"Your wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill stated that courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others. I firmly believe that this quality has been consistently displayed in abundance by the thousands of personnel, both civilian and military, who have served here, many on several occasions. Of those thousands, 179 made the ultimate sacrifice, and just as the people of the United Kingdom will not forget them, nor will the people of Iraq. We owe a debt of gratitude that we can best pay by continuing the progress my country has made. I can pledge that the Government of Iraq will do so.

"General Salmon, as you and your men and women depart, you leave a Basra that has been transformed by the improvements and security provided by the 14th, [and] 10th Division of the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police and the border control, all of this supported by the United Kingdom. You can and should be proud of the many achievements to which you and your predecessors have contributed.

"On behalf of all the Iraqis I thank the United Kingdom for the hard work and sacrifice that has helped bring peace and stability to Iraq's second city."

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the UK Chief of the Defence Staff, also speaking at the ceremony, said:

"Above all, this is about the Iraqi people. This whole endeavour has always been about the Iraqi people, about the Iraqi Armed Forces and the rest of the Iraqi Security Forces who have fought with such bravery and who have accomplished such great things on behalf of their great nation. It is because of their success, it is because of their commitment, it is because of the courage that they have shown, it is because of the sacrifices they have made that we are able to make this transition today.

"Your wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill stated that courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others. I firmly believe that this quality has been consistently displayed in abundance by the thousands of personnel, both civilian and military, who have served here."
General Nasier Abadi, Vice Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Joint Forces
"And more than anything else, it is about the ordinary men and women and children of Iraq. It is about them being able, with confidence, to construct their own future. It is about them being able to have a say in the governance of their own country. It is about them being able to develop their own prosperity. It is about ordinary parents of Iraqi families being able to say, 'Our children will have better lives than we did', and, after all, for just about any of us around the world, that is at the heart of our concerns wherever we may live."

Major General Andy Salmon said:

"We have achieved what we set out to achieve here in Basra. We have rid the country of a brutal dictator. We have helped the people of Iraq establish a new democratic government, trained an army from scratch and delivered security in the face of a challenging insurgency. We have helped the Iraqi people lay the foundations of economic prosperity and that's an enormous achievement."

The divisional staff along with Major General Andy Salmon will be the first troops to leave Basra. The rest of the British combat troops will leave Iraq by 31 July 2009.

While the combat mission in Iraq will come to an end, Britain is currently discussing with the Iraqi Government what residual capabilities will remain.


"Iraq and the United Kingdom have had closely shared history since the early 20th century and close co-operation and cultural exchange between the two countries have underpinned this. Rather aptly, this of course includes considerable support for building the first Iraqi army, air force and navy.

"It is reassuring therefore that even at this moment of imminent departure for some, that officials from Iraq and the United Kingdom are meeting in Baghdad to discuss the long term bilateral defence relationships as testament to the continuing of this co-operation. Of particular note we would very much value further naval and officer training, areas in which the United Kingdom has renowned expertise.

"I am delighted, but given our mutual understanding not surprised, that the UK has stayed the course from 2003, and they will continue to support and develop development of Iraq across a wide spectrum of mutual interests, military, commercial, cultural and educational. But that is for the future. Now is the time to thank all those British personnel who have served your country and mine here in the south and who have contributed so much to the development of the security, sovereignty and democracy of Iraq."