An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 men arrived by foot, bus, and other vehicles by sun up at an airfield outside an Iraqi Army base in an effort to join Iraq’s army. Of that, close to 5,000 made it through a screening process that led them onto the base, which is home to several thousand Iraqi soldiers and a contingent of U.S. service members. Most will be transferred to other bases in Iraq to supplement existing units.



The process was a result of the largest recruitment effort for the Iraqi Army to date, said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Woodley of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq. Pic: CPT Steven Alvarez