Multinational Division Central-South
Multinational Division Central-South (MND-CS), created in September 2003, and supported by NATO, was a part of the Multinational Force Iraq. Headquartered in Camp Echo, it was under Polish command until October 2008, when the last of Poland's troops were withdrawn. Polish contingent was its largest. Other participants included Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Norway, Romania, El Salvador, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine and the United States of America. As of December 2008, Armenian, Bosnian, Danish, Latvian, Kazakh, Lithuanian, Mongolian, Spanish and Slovakian forces have been fully withdrawn.
| Multi-National Division (South-East) (Iraq) | |
|---|---|
 Logo of MND C-S | |
| Active | 2003 - 2008 |
| Country |  Poland |
| Type | Command |
| Part of | Multi-National Corps – Iraq |
| Garrison/HQ | Camp Echo |
The South Central zone (formerly the Upper South zone, also known as the Polish zone covered the area south of Baghdad: Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Karbala Governorate, Babil Governorate and the Wasit Governorate, all of which have been transferred to the Iraqi government. The region has a population of about 5 million spread over 65 632 km². Major cities in the area include Diwaniyah, Kut, Hillah, and Karbala and Najaf.
The Najaf Governorate was passed back to American control in 2004, due to reduction in strength of the forces under Polish command; this reduced the zone to about 3 million of population spread over 28 655 km². On January 5, 2006, Polish troops handed over control of the central Babil province to U.S. troops.
General information
The strength of the Polish forces has decreased from 2224 (2003) to 900 (2007). The Ukrainian forces numbered 1640 in 2003, by mid-2005 the number decreased to 900, and about 29 officers and 8 Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) deployed, serving in headquarters and in a unit of military assistance, before the final withdrawal in 2008.[1] Other contingents in 2003 numbered:
- Spain, 1340;
- Thailand, 886;
- Bulgaria, 480;
- Honduras, 364;
- Philippines, 350;
- El Salvador, 346;
- Dominican Republic, 300;
- Hungary, 300;
- Romania, 220;
- Mongolia, 190;
- Latvia, 145;
- Nicaragua, 111,
- Slovak Republic, 111;
- Lithuania, 45;
- Kazakhstan, 25;
- Denmark, 10;
- Netherlands, 6;
- Norway, 5;
- some support and liaison personnel from United Kingdom and the United States Army.
The Division has been switching from stabilization tasks (patrols, etc.) towards training the Iraqi Army (8th Infantry Division and security forces – Iraqi Police and Iraqi Border Police).
The divisional headquarters was moved in 2004 from Camp Babilon to Camp Echo.
According to mission statement the primary task of the MND CS was to oversee the transfer of the military and security in the areas under its control to the provisional Iraqi authorities.
Description in State of Denial
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In Bob Woodward's book State of Denial he recounts the experience of Frank Miller, who as of March 2004 was the senior director for defense on the National Security Council. During the course of a fact finding trip to Iraq in that month he visited the leadership of the Multinational Division. Woodward's description is as follows:
Miller moved on to meet with the Polish commander of the Multinational Division, made up of troops from 23 nations. This was the shakiest part of the coalition—but an important fig leaf to suggest that the war was a broad international effort
The Polish division commander told Miller, "I've got 23 separate national units. They have 23 separate rules of engagement. I pick up the phone, I tell the colonel in charge of the Spanish Brigade what to do. He picks up his phone, calls Madrid, and says, 'I've been told to do this. Is it okay?'"
Miller understood that this meant the Multinational Division had little or no fighting capability.
Commanders
| Rotation | Commander | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Andrzej Tyszkiewicz | 17 May 2003 | 11 January 2004 |
| II | Mieczysław Bieniek | 11 January 2004 | 18 July 2004 |
| III | Andrzej Ekiert | 18 July 2004 | 7 February 2005 |
| IV | Waldemar Skrzypczak | 7 February 2005 | 26 July 2005 |
| V | Piotr Czerwiński | 26 July 2005 | 6 February 2006 |
| VI | Edward Gruszka | 6 February 2006 | 18 July 2006 |
| VII | Bronisław Kwiatkowski | 18 July 2006 | 24 January 2007 |
| VIII | Paweł Lamla | 24 January 2007 | 25 July 2007 |
| IX | Tadeusz Buk | 25 July 2007 | 30 January 2008 |
| X | Andrzej Malinowski | 30 January 2008 | 31 October 2008 |
Forces
Polish
| Rotation | Division | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| I | 12th Mechanised Division | 2500 |
| II | 11th Armoured Cavalry Division | 2500 |
| III | 16th Mechanised Division | 2400 |
| IV | 11th Lubusz Armoured Cavalry Division | 1500 |
| V | 1st Warsaw Mechanised Division | 1500 |
| VI | 12th Szczecin Mechanised Division | 900 |
| VII | 16th Pomeranian Mechanised Division | 900 |
| VIII | 11th Lubusz Armoured Cavalry Division | 900 |
| IX | 1st Warsaw Mechanised Division | 900 |
| X | 12th Szczecin Mechanised Division | 900 |
Spanish and Latin America
Ukrainian
| Rotation | Dates | Unit | Commander | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 18 August 2003 – 19 February 2004[2] | 5th Mechanized Brigade | Major General Sergiy Bezlushchenko[3] | 1,656(1,614)[4] |
| II | 19 February 2004 – 22 September 2004[2] | 6th Mechanized Brigade | Major General Serhiy Ostrovskyi[5] | 1,795[6] |
| III | 22 September 2004 – 7 May 2005[2] | 7th Mechanized Brigade | Major General Serhiy Popko[5] | 1,722[7] |
| IV | 7 May 2005 – 29 December 2005[2] | 81st Tactical Group | Major General Serhiy Horoshnykov | 896[8] |
| 20 December 2005 – 9 December 2008[9] | Colonel Henadii Lachkov[10] | 37 |
References
- Ukrainian peacekeeping personnel as a part of Multinational forces in Iraq
- (in Ukrainian) Minister of Defense met last group of soldiers from Iraq Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- (in Ukrainian) Commander of 5th Mechanized Brigade Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- (in Ukrainian) More than 400 soldiers from 5th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will take part in first joint patrol in the city of Kut with US marines Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- (in Ukrainian) Ukrainian peacekeepers in Iraq, met with the governor of Wasit province
- (in Ukrainian) Defense Minister Yevhen Marchuk made a check of preparations of the 6th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces to perform peacekeeping tasks in Iraq Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- (in Ukrainian) Preparation began for the 7th separate mechanized brigade for peacekeeping tasks in Iraq
- (in Ukrainian) A telephone conversation too place with Ukrainian President and commander of 81st Task Force of Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent in Iraq, Major General Sergei Horoshnykov Archived 2012-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
- (in Ukrainian) 29 Ukrainian officers and ensign of the Ukrainian peacekeeping personnel in the Republic of Iraq returned home
- Ukrainians complete mission in Iraq
External links
- Multi-National Division – (Central South) at globalsecurity.org
- Lieutenant Colonel Robert Strzelecki, Polish Army, Lessons Learned: Multinational Division Central-South
- Multinational Division Central-South Commemorative Medal
| Troops at time of MNF-I deactivation | Withdrawn troops (2008–2011) | Withdrawn troops (2003–2007) |
|---|---|---|
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Total invasion deployment
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