MSG Battalion / Company B Detachments Within (Iraq) USEMB Baghdad

   

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Former Baghdad  MSGs - Contacts
NOTE: Names with Bullets are Current Members of the Marine Embassy Guard Association.
 If not marked, please consider joining - see the  MEGA Membership Page for details.

1950 - 1959 Ken Gardner 1958 - 61 Gary McAlpin 1957 - 60 Peter Sabat 1958 - 61  John "Fred" Simpson 1957 - 61 (Tehran 61)	1960 - 1969 Jefferson Herring 1966 - 69 Steve Thompson 1963 - 64 (Tel Aviv 65, Leopoldville 66)
1970 - 1979	1980 - 1889 Jerry White 1987 - 88 (Bucharest 86  Televiv 89 - Dar es Salaam)
1990 - 1999	2000 -
Tour Date Unknown

Note: Historical information partially provided from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/iraq_history.asp

2006

Detachment Commander: Watchstanders:

2005

Zalmay Khalilzad (Ambassador 2005 - ) Detachment Commander: Watchstanders: MSG Cedric Pippen wounded in roadside bombing Jan: elections for the transitional National Assembly, the United Iraqi Alliance, - Shiite coalition supported by Ayatollah Sistani , won nearly half the vote, - Kurdish alliance took more than a quarter. - Sunni participation in the vote was, in most areas, very low as a result of boycott and intimidation, leading some - Sunni clerics to denounce the balloting as illegitimate. - Shiite and Kurdish coalitions form an alliance, but it was not until early April that the choices for the main national leadership posts were finalized. Hajim al-Hassan (Sunni),Speaker of the National Assembly; Jalal Talabani, (Kurd) President; Ibrahim al-Jaafari, (Shia) Prime Minister.

2004

Detachment Commander: Watchstanders: Flag Raising during US Embassy opening cerimonies January:  U.S. arms inspectors reported that they had found no evidence of Iraqi chemical or biological weapons stockpiles prior to the U.S. invasion; the asserted existence of such stockpiles had been a main justification for the invasion. US Senate investigation criticized the CIA for providing faulty information and assessments concerning Iraq's weapons. March: An interim constitution was signed by the Governing Council - Sunni insurgents in Falluja attacked a convoy of U.S. civilian security forces, killing four and desecrating the corpses, - U.S. crackdown on Falluja, a center of Sunni insurgency. April: Fighting in Falluja  resulted in the most significant casualties since since the end of the invasion; - Falluja conflict ended with the insurgents largely in place. - U.S. moves against the organization of a radical Shiite cleric, Moktada al-Sadr, led him to call for an uprising. There was unrest in a number of cities in S central and S Iraq, but by mid-April al-Sadr's forces were in control only in the area around An Najaf, a city holy to Shiites, and a cease-fire took effect in June. June: United Nations endorsed the reestablishment of Iraqi sovereignty, - Iyad Allawi , a Shiite, became prime minister - Sheik Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, a Sunni, became president - Interim constitution took effect. - Saddam Hussein and 11 other former high-ranking Iraqi officials were formally turned over to the new government and were arraigned. July: U.S. sanctions ended, Aug: Large-scale fighting with al-Sadr's militia (centered on An Najaf and, to a lesser degree, Sadr City, a Shiite section of Baghdad, Militia subsequently abandoned An Najaf and fighting ceased. -  a 100-member National Council established -  responsible for overseeing the interim government and preparing for elections in 2005. October:  al-Sadr shifted to converting his movement into a political force. - U.S. inspectors concluded i that although Hussein never abandoned his goal of acquiring nuclear weapons, Iraq had halted its nuclear program after the first Persian Gulf War. U.S. quietly abandoned their search for weapons of mass destruction by the end of 2004. Fall 2004: (Central Iraq), , U.S. forces began operations to establish control of Sunni areas November:   U.S. forces regained control of Falluja  Estimates of the insurgents' numbers, including foreign guerrillas, ranged from 8,000 to 12,000; December: by the end of 2004 the most violent anti-U.S., anti-interim government fighters were Sunni forces, which were increasingly dominated by Islamic militants. Ongoing violence in Iraq continued to hamper reconstruction, as a lack of security hindered rebuilding and security needs diverted money away from rebuilding.

2003		Detachment Commander: Watchstanders: January,  UN inspectors had found no evidence of forbidden weapons programs, but they also indicated that Iraq was not actively cooperating with their efforts to determine if previously known or suspected weapons had been destroyed and weapons programs had been ended. March: Continued U.S.-British insistence on complete Iraqi cooperation with the UN inspections, and continued Iraqi resistance to doing so, led the United States and Britain to demand that Hussein step down or face an invasion. - Mar. 19, 2003, the Anglo-American attack began with an airstrike aimed at Hussein personally. - Sizable ground forces began invading the following day, surging primarily toward Baghdad, the southern oil fields, and port facilities; - a northern front was opened by Kurdish and Anglo-American forces late in March. -After less than a month of fighting, Hussein's rule had collapsed, and U.S. and British forces were established in major urban areas. - Hussein survived the war and went into hiding, - guerrilla attacks by what were believed to be Ba'ath loyalists and Islamic militants became an ongoing problem in the following months, largely in Sunni-dominated central Iraq. - The Kurdish-dominated north and Shiite-dominated south were generally calmer. L. Paul Bremer 3d was appointed as civilian head of the occupation. May: UN economic sanctions were lifted July: U.S. sanctions were not ended, , and in mid-July an interim Governing Council consisting of representatives of Iraqi opposition groups was established. Nonetheless, civil order and the economy were restored at a slow pace. The cost for rebuilding Iraq was estimated by Bremer in late 2003 to be as much as $100 billion over three years. IRAQ: Suddam Husseins sons killed in Raid (July 22) - End-of-2003: Revelations in May of U.S. abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison sparked widespread dismay and outrage in Iraq, - President of the Governing Council was assassinated October: UN Security Council passed a British-American resolution calling for a timetable for self-rule in Iraq to be established by mid-December. November:  United States speeds up the process, Governing Council endorsed a U.S.-proposed plan that called for self-rule in mid-2004 under a transitional assembly, which would be elected by a system of caucuses. - Shiites objected to this because it would not involve elections; they feared a diminished voice in the government and greater U.S. influence if caucuses were used to choose the assembly. December: Hussein was finally captured by U.S. forces  Suddam Husain Captured in Tekrit (Dec 15) US War with Iraq
2002		Detachment Commander: Watchstanders: May: UN Security Council agreed on revised sanctions that focused on military goods and goods with potential military applications, greatly expanding the range of consumer goods that could be readily imported into Iraq. October:, President Hussein won a referendum on a seven-year extension of his presidency, receiving 100% of the vote according to Iraqi officials. - U.S. Congress approved the use of force against Iraq, November:  the Security Council passed a resolution offering Iraq a “final opportunity” to cooperate on arms inspections. A strict timetable was established for the return of the inspectors and resumption of inspections, and active Iraqi compliance was insisted on. The Iraqi parliament rejected the terms of the resolution, but inspectors were permitted to return, and inspections resumed in late November. December:  An official Iraqi declaration  that it had no weapons of mass destruction was generally regarded as incomplete and uninformative.
2001
2000
1999		Detachment Commander: Watchstanders: January United States admitted that American spies had worked undercover on the inspection teams while in Iraq, gathering intelligence on Iraqi weapons programs. - Two rival factions, the Kurdistan Democratic party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, engaged in sporadic warfare during the 1990s; in 1999 the two groups agreed to end hostilities.
1998		Detachment Commander: Watchstanders: December:raids against military targets (continued until the 2003 war). I
1997		Detachment Commander: Watchstanders: October:  UN disarmament commission concluded that Iraq was continuing to hide information on biological arms and was withholding data on chemical weapons and missiles. November: U.S. weapons inspectors were expelled from Iraq in -  U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf ensued. - As Iraq ceased cooperating with UN inspectors, the United States and Britain began a series of air raids against Iraqi military targets and oil refineries
1996		Detachment Commander: Watchstanders: May:  Iraq reached an accord with the United Nations allowing it to sell $1 billion worth of oil every 90 days, with the money set aside for food and medicine, compensation to Kuwaitis, and other purposes. The program was subsequently renewed (it ended only in Nov., 2003), and many restrictions on civilian trade were removed, but it also became a means (through the use of illicit surcharges) for funneling money to Hussein's government.
1995		Detachment Commander: Watchstanders:
1994		NCOIC:   Watchstanders: October  Iraq massed troops on the Kuwaiti border; the United States and other coalition members increased their forces in the area, and Iraq withdrew the troops.
1993		NCOIC:   Watchstanders:  Confrontations with the United Nations and former coalition members, especially the United States, continued to flare. - after Hussein had repeatedly violated terms of the Persian Gulf War cease-fire, bombers from the United States and other coalition members twice struck Iraqi targets.
1992		NCOIC:   Watchstanders: Kurds established an “autonomous region” in N Iraq. - Two rival factions, the Kurdistan Democratic party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, engaged in sporadic warfare during the 1990s; in 1999 the two groups agreed to end hostilities.
1991		NCOIC:   Watchstanders: The United Nations established international trade sanctions against Iraq, but Hussein did not withdraw his troops. January 16:  U.S.-led coalition forces began air attacks  which led to a ground invasion to retake Kuwait. - Iraq launched Scud missiles against both Israel and Saudi Arabia. - Iraqi forces quickly succumbed to coalition troops and were forced out of Kuwait. - While suffering heavy casualties, Iraq retained its elite Republican Guard, and Hussein remained in power. UN inspections imposed as part of the conditions for ending the war found evidence of chemical warheads and of a program to produce materials for nuclear weapons; Iraq destroyed some chemical weapons under UN supervision.
1990		NCOIC:   Watchstanders: US breaks relations with Iraq, detachment deactivated Amb Glaspie interview with Suddam Hussein Aug. 2, 1990: 120,000 Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait, and Hussein declared its annexation (see Persian Gulf War ). - Foreigners in Iraq and Kuwait were held hostage but released after a few months.  Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations Amb April Glaspie Hussein accused neighboring Kuwait in July, 1990, with flooding world oil markets, causing oil prices to decrease and threatening Iraq's attempts to boost its war-torn economy.
1989		NCOIC:   Watchstanders: Throughout 1989 and into 1990, Hussein's repressive policies and continued arms buildup caused international criticism, particularly in the United States.. - Hostility against Israel increased, particularly after Israel's bombing of the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981.
1988		April Catherine Glaspie (Ambassador 1988) NCOIC:   Watchstanders: Iran-Iraq cease-fire under the auspices of the United Nations led to the war's end i
1987
1986		NCOIC:   Watchstanders:
1985		NCOIC:   Watchstanders: David George Newton (Ambassador 1985)
1984		NCOIC:   Watchstanders:
1983		NCOIC:   Watchstanders:
1982		NCOIC:   Watchstanders:
1981		NCOIC:   Watchstanders: - Hostility against Israel increased, particularly after Israel's bombing of the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981
1980		NCOIC:   Watchstanders:  War between Iran and Iraq, primarily over the Shatt al Arab waterway, erupted full-scale in 1980  (see Iran-Iraq War ). - The eight-year war became a series of mutual attacks and stalemates, as both countries' oil production fell drastically, the death toll rose, and great mutual destruction was inflicted. - Poison gas was reportedly used by both sides, and by Iraq on Kurdish villages as the Kurdish rebellion continued. Eventually, a cease-fire under the auspices of the United Nations led to the war's end in 1988. Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990.
1979		NCOIC:   Watchstanders: President Bakr resigned, - Saddam Hussein Takriti assumed control of the government. Ba'ath Party purged after an unsuccessful coup, killing leftist members.
1978		NCOIC:   Watchstanders:
1977		NCOIC:   Watchstanders:
1976		NCOIC:   Watchstanders:
1975		Agreement between Iraq and Iran over the Shatt al Arab waterway was reached. At this time, Iraq's acquired wealth from its oil revenues enabled the establishment of modernization programs and improved public services throughout the country. - Kurds once again fought for their independence in N Iraq, but they suffered heavily when Iran withdrew support. Fighting led to the Iraqi bombing of Kurdish villages in parts of Iran, which again exacerbated tensions between the two countries. - Opposition within Iraq grew among the Shiites, who were the majority of the population yet were excluded from political power. As the Islamic Revolution in neighboring Iran grew in the late 1970s, Iraqi leaders recognized its threat.
1974		In early 1974, years of border conflicts with Iran culminated in heavy armed clashes along the entire length of their border.
1973		The Communist party in Iraq was also legalized -Another coup was foiled; the internal security chief was blamed, and he and 35 others were executed. - Iraq took an active part in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War; it also participated in the oil boycott against nations supporting Israel.
1972		a 15-year friendship treaty was signed with Syria
1971		NCOIC:   Watchstanders:
1970		Relations with Syria soured in 1970 when a younger generation of Ba'ath party members took control there, creating a rivalry between Syrian and Iraqi Ba'athists. Relations with the USSR improved,
1969		Espionage trials in 1969 led to the execution of more than 50 persons.
1968		Gen. Abd al-Rahman Aref, overthrown by a bloodless coup in 1968. Maj. Gen. Ahmad Hasan al- Bakr of the Ba'ath party became president and began a purge of opponents.
1967		NCOIC: