17 February 2025
A decade ago, Daesh seized large territories across north-western Iraq and eastern Syria, taking advantage of the Syrian civil war and an overwhelmed, collapsing Iraqi Security Force.
The transnational jihadist group moved fast on the back of a propaganda campaign that created the perception they were more powerful, widespread and effective than they were.
The international military response in Iraq focused on providing air support, and training Iraqi forces to counter the Daesh advance and reclaim territory.
Australia’s contribution to the fight against Daesh fell under Operation Okra, which, after a decade, officially concluded in December 2024.
Among the three Australian task groups operating in Iraq, Task Group Taji led the 'inside the wire' training of regular Iraqi Security Forces.
Army tasked the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (2/14 LHR) to raise the training team, with their commanding officer – now Major General Ash Collingburn of 1st (Australian) Division – in command.
He was readying the regiment for Exercise Talisman Sabre before being given 72 hours to deploy.
“I couldn’t tell anyone, and was tasked with conducting a reconnaissance that would inform government decision-making,” Major General Collingburn said.
'Back at the unit, we were searching for information, knowing little in that first week beyond the fact that it was going to be a training team.'
One trainer from 2/14 LHR, then Corporal Jeffrey Cummings, now Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2), recalled being pulled from a training course and sent back to his unit with little explanation.
“Back at the unit, we were searching for information, knowing little in that first week beyond the fact that it was going to be a training team,” WO2 Cummings said.
The trainers, all corporals and above, were primarily drawn from 2/14 LHR, supplemented by medics, artillery, engineers and other specialists to form a combined-arms team that went from notification to deployment within weeks.
“At the start, there weren’t robust facilities, but we gradually built everything up,” Major General Collingburn said.
The facilities were basic; mostly empty warehouses, with the Task Group Taji signals and logistics teams setting up infrastructure, while the training teams worked with the Iraqi soldiers.
The Taji Military Complex housed a mix of Iraqi and Coalition forces, which Major General Collingburn said reflected the evolving nature of conflict in Iraq compared with his earlier experience there as a combat team commander.
In 2007, one of their primary enemies in the south was the militia group Jaysh al-Mahdi.
“Fast forward to 2015, I saw Jaysh al-Mahdi rebadged as Saraya al-Salam driving around the Taji Military Complex, flying their flag," he said.
"This time, they were essentially on our side. It was quite surreal."
WO2 Cummings said the Iraqis liked the Australians’ demeanour and their approach to training.
“The commonality between a jundi (Arabic for soldier) and a digger is pretty similar,” he said.
“We treated them like we treat our soldiers and trained them the best we could. They appreciated it.”
The Iraqi soldiers were exposed to constant propaganda, which exaggerated Daesh capabilities, such as impossible sniper accuracy at extreme ranges.
Part of the trainers’ role was dispelling these misconceptions.
A key achievement was training the 76th Iraqi Army Brigade, which played a significant role in recapturing the city of Ramadi.
“I had direct feedback from battalion commanders who came back to Taji to resupply,” Major General Collingburn said.
“They would meet with us for coffee; sit down and talk about what worked, what didn’t, and what they needed more of.”
'The Iraqis would tell them, "The last guys here taught us how to use tourniquets – we saved lives with that training".'
The combined-arms training and overall approach proved effective, and was a major focus.
They recognised snipers as a significant threat, leading to focused training on sniper and counter-sniper tactics.
Another area Iraqis valued was combat medical training, which became a critical component of what was provided.
WO2 Cummings said Task Group Taji achieved its mission by training Iraqi forces to retake territory captured by Daesh, but the most rewarding part came when trainers returned for later rotations.
“The Iraqis would tell them, ‘The last guys here taught us how to use tourniquets – we saved lives with that training’,” he said.
Australia’s contribution to the fight against Daesh involved more than 4800 personnel across Task Groups Taji, Air Task and Special Operations.
Task Group Taji trained more than 47,000 Iraqi security personnel over five years, including individual and collective training.
