Multi-National Forces West (MNF-W) or United States Forces West (USF-W) was one of the coalition headquarters under

Multi-National Force-Iraq Multinational may refer to: * Multinational corporation, a corporate organization operating in multiple countries * Multinational force, a military body from multiple countries * Multinational state, a sovereign state that comprises two or more ...

. It was headquartered by either I or II U.S. Marine Expeditionary Force that rotated on a 12-month basis. Their area of operations was primarily the Al Anbar province which includes the cities of Ar Ramadi,

Fallujah Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important J ...

, Al-Qa'im, and Haditha. The force was the most important U.S. unit to take part in the Iraq War in Al Anbar Governorate. Among the smaller multinational units operating within MNF-W was a platoon from the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

Commanders

During the Iraq War, the Marine Corps regularly rotated command of MNF-W between the 1st and 2nd Marine Expeditionary Forces. For convenience, these changes of command are listed below and the Marine command in MNF-W is simply referred to as "MEF":

I Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It is ...

March 2004 – February 2005 ( James T. Conway/ John F. Sattler)
March 2006 – February 2007 ( Richard C. Zilmer)
February 2008 – February 2009 (

John F. Kelly John Francis Kelly (born May 11, 1950) is an American former political advisor and retired U.S. Marine Corps general who served as White House chief of staff for President Donald Trump from July 31, 2017, to January 2, 2019. He had previousl ...

)

II Marine Expeditionary Force The II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force consisting of ground, air and logistics forces capable of projecting offensive combat power ashore while sustaining itself in combat without external assistance for a ...

March 2005 – February 2006 (

Stephen T. Johnson Stephen T. Johnson (born 1950) is a retired major general in the United States Marine Corps who served as commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division during the Iraq War. He is an alumnus of Monmouth College Monmouth College is a private ...

)
February 2007 – February 2008 (

Walter Gaskin Walter E. Gaskin Sr. is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general who served as the 19th Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from May 2009 to August 2013. In that role, he served as Acting Chairman of the NATO Military ...

)
March 2009 – January 2010 (

Richard T. Tryon Richard T. Tryon is a retired U.S. Marine lieutenant general. He previously served as commander of United States Marine Corps Forces Command, 2nd Marine Division and the 24th MEU (SOC). Marine Corps career Tryon initially enlisted in the Na ...

) As the Marine Corps withdrew from

Al Anbar Governorate Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, ...

, by September 2009 they were replaced by a single brigade, the 1st Brigade of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thor ...

. The brigade was bolstered with an additional 16 advisers, though this did not reach the 48 assigned advisors that were supposed to be part of an 'Advise and Assist' brigade.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Public Website for Multi-National Forces - West
Multinational force involved in the Iraq War Military units and formations of the United States Marine Corps United States Marine Corps in the Iraq War Ad hoc units and formations of the United States Marine Corps Military units and formations established in 2004 Military units and formations disestablished in 2010