Editing Republican Guard (Iraq) (section)

===2003 U.S. Invasion===
''See article: [[Iraq War]]''
[[File:FROG-7.JPEG|thumb|right|250px|An Iraqi Republican Guard [[FROG-7]] captured by [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] (2003).]]
The Republican Guard was subordinate to the "Special Security Apparatus of the State" and not to the [[Ministry of Defence (Iraq)|Ministry of Defence]] as was the regular [[Iraqi Army]]. It was split into two Corps, one for the defense and control of northern Iraq, called "Allah Akbar Operations Command", composed of infantry and armoured units, and the "Fat'h al-Mubayyin Operations Command" composed primarily of  mechanized units, which was located in the southern part of the country. In 2002, it was reported that the Republican Guard and the [[Fedayeen Saddam]] were both training for [[urban warfare]] and [[guerrilla]] warfare.

The Republican Guard then consisted of between 50,000 and 60,000 men (although some sources cite up to 80,000), all volunteers, and some 750 Soviet T-72 and [[Asad Babil]] tanks and scores of T-55 and T-62 tanks, along with other mechanized vehicles. A further 90-100 T-72 tanks were operated by the [[Special Republican Guard (Iraq)|Special Republican Guard]]. These forces were intentionally placed far from the capital for averting a possible rebellion against the regime. The members of this body of the army were provided with better pay, equipment, and training. They formed a special corps, with the ability to buy houses, while also being given other privileges to ensure loyalty to the regime.

On 23 March, 2003, the [[2nd Al Medina Armored Division]] and 6th Nebuchadnezzer Mechanized Division tasked with defending the Karbala Gap fought well, disrupting a strong attack conducted by the [[11th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade|11th Aviation Group]] ("11th Attack Helicopter Regiment"), damaging thirty Apaches and shooting down one,<ref>"On 23 March 2003, three days after the onset of the Iraq war, 31 Apache helicopters of the 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment (some organic, some attached) set out to deplete the armour and air defenses of the Iraqi Medina Division near Karbala. As was doctrine, they flew low in packs toward their objective. However, en route they became ensnared in 'flak traps' - storms of small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades, and man-portable missiles, originating from rooftops. This ad hoc air defense effort, which was reminiscent of Somali tactics ten years earlier, had probably been triggered by Iraqi pickets equipped with either cell phones or low-power radios. The fire brought down one of the Apaches and damaged all the others sufficiently to compel their return to base. The experience dampened command interest in attempting helicopter deep attack thereafter." Military Intervention and Common Sense: Focus on Land Forces, Lutz Unterseher, Carl Conetta, pp. 94-95, Commonwealth Institute, 2009</ref> later capturing the crew consisting of David Williams and Ronald Young, both chief warrant officers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/24/sprj.irq.apache.attack/index.html?iref=mpstoryview|title=CNN.com - U.S. Apache pilots taken prisoner - Mar. 24, 2003|work=cnn.com|access-date=9 December 2014}}</ref> This delayed advances from the Apache unit, as the helicopters were under-repair.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=20040801&id=V2xPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6808,32804|title=Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search|work=google.com|access-date=9 December 2014}}</ref> At least 2 Apaches of the helicopter regiment were damaged beyond repair.<ref>"With visibility down to zero, the heavily damaged machines made their finals on instruments, some crash-landing and being written off, others undergoing weeks of repair." Asia Pacific Defence Reporter, p. 124, Asia-Pacific Defence Publications, 2004</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Gulf+War+2%3A+40+SHOTS..+40+STRIKES+Awesome+US+Apache+gunships+blast...-a099354343|title=Gulf War 2: 40 SHOTS.. 40 STRIKES Awesome US Apache gunships blast Iraqi elite with a hail of missiles; 50 Republican Guards dead, 25 tanks blitzed in 30-chopper swoop by Screaming Eagles.|work=thefreelibrary.com|access-date=9 December 2014}}</ref> On 2 April 2003, the Iraqi units positioned around Karbala shot down a U.S. Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter, killing seven soldiers and wounding four.<ref>"On 2 April 2003, a U.S. Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down near Karbala, killing seven soldiers and wounding four others. This event appeared to indicate a significant enemy presence in the city. The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts, Spencer C. Tucker, p. 672, ABC-CLIO, 2010</ref> Iraqi forces also shot down an FA-18 Hornet near Karbala around 8.45 AM local time.<ref>"On 2 April a navy FA-18 was shot down west of Karbala, Iraq."  Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue, George Galdorisi, Thomas Phillips, p. 519, Zenith Imprint, 2008</ref><ref>"The plane from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in the Persian Gulf went down just before midnight Wednesday while on a bombing mission near Karbala, a city 50 miles south of Baghdad where fighting raged between U.S. forces and the Republican Guard. A search team was immediately launched. Other aircraft reported seeing surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft fire in the area where the plane disappeared, said Lt. Brook DeWalt, a spokesman for the Kitty Hawk ... Iraqi television broadcast pictures Thursday of what it said was the wreckage and Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahaf claimed the aircraft was shot down by the Saddam Fedayeen, Iraq's paramilitary force." [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/two-aircraft-down-over-iraq Two Aircraft Down Over Iraq]</ref>

On 7 April 2003, an Iraqi Special Republican Guard FROG-7 rocket or an Ababil-100 SSM missile exploded among the parked vehicles of the headquarters of 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, killing two soldiers (Private 1st Class Anthony Miller and Staff Sergeant Lincoln Hollinsaid) and two embedded journalists (Julio Parrado and Christian Liebig), wounding 15 and destroying 17 military vehicles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/07/international/worldspecial/07CND-STRI.html|title=Iraqi Missile Hits Army Base|date=7 April 2003|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=9 December 2014}}</ref> 

On 8 April 2003, some 500 Iraqis (including Special Republican Guard<ref>"...about 500 Iraq forces took part in the counterattack. They were a combination of special Republican Guard, Fedayeen and Baath Party loyalists..."   [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=20030407&id=RgsiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LnMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4144,1613028 Iraqis Launch Counterattack In Baghdad; 50 Reported Killed]</ref>) mounted a fierce counterattack across the Jumhuriya Bridge in Baghdad, forcing a part of the U.S. forces on the western side of Baghdad to initially abandon their positions, but the Iraqis reportedly lost 50 soldiers in the fight because of A-10 Warthogs deployed by the [[United States Air Force|USAF]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2026&dat=20030408&id=pcYjAAAAIBAJ&pg=3368,867600|title=Moscow-Pullman Daily News - Google News Archive Search|work=google.com|access-date=9 December 2014}}</ref> Though, an A-10 attack plane was shot down while combating the counterattack by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile.<ref>"A-10 aircraft strafed both sides of the main road leading to the bridge and one aircraft was lost to a shoulder-launched missile."  Cradle of Conflict: Iraq and the Birth of Modern U.S. Military Power, Michael Knights, p.326, Naval Institute Press, 2005</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=20030408&id=OitPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6695,2705665|title=Star-News - Google News Archive Search|work=google.com|access-date=9 December 2014}}</ref>

====2003 Order of Battle====
* 1st Republican Guard (Southern) Corps
** [[2nd Al Medina Armored Division|2nd ''Al Medina'' Armored Division]]; 2nd, 10th and 14th Brigades.
** 5th ''Baghdad'' Mechanized Division; including the 4th, 5th, and 6th Motorized Brigades.
** 7th ''Adnan'' Infantry Division; 11th, 12th, 21st, and Divisional Artillery Brigades.
* 2nd Republican Guard (Northern) Corps
** ''Al Nida'' Armored Division; 41st, 42nd, 43rd Brigades.
** 6th ''Nebuchadnezzer'' Mechanized Division; 19th, 22nd and 23rd Brigades.
** [[1st Hammurabi Armoured Division]] - possibly with Western Desert Force;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.casi.org.uk/discuss/2000/msg01122.html|title = News Supplement, 22-29/10/00}}</ref> 8th, 9th Mechanized Brigades, 18th Armored, Division Artillery Brigade.
* ''As Saiqa'' Special Forces Division - independent unit containing:
** [[Special forces]] brigade
** [[Paratrooper]] brigade
** [[Marines|Marine]] brigade
** Numerous [[Commando]] units
[[File:Al-Furayji, Mohan (2008) crop.jpg|thumb|Lt. General [[Mohan al-Furayji]], former Republican Guard officer, as a commander of the new [[Iraqi Army]] on 5 August 2008.]]
On 2 April 2003, U.S. Army Brigadier General [[Vincent K. Brooks]] said that the Baghdad Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard had been "destroyed". Iraqi information minister [[Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf]] responded that this was another U.S. "lie".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-04-02-baghdad-guard_x.htm|title=USATODAY.com - U.S.: Baghdad division of Republican Guard destroyed|work=usatoday.com|access-date=9 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/07/sprj.irq.sahaf/|title=CNN.com - Sahaf: U.S. troops will be burned - Apr. 7, 2003|work=cnn.com|access-date=9 December 2014}}</ref>

The Republican Guard was officially dissolved on 23 May 2003 per [[Coalition Provisional Authority Order 2|Order 2]] of the [[Coalition Provisional Authority]] under Administrator [[Paul Bremer]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20030823_CPAORD_2_Dissolution_of_Entities_with_Annex_A.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051012010032/http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20030823_CPAORD_2_Dissolution_of_Entities_with_Annex_A.pdf|url-status=usurped|title=Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2: Dissolution of Entities|archive-date=October 12, 2005}}</ref>

In early 2004, British journalist Sean Langan confirmed that one of the local commanders of the guerrilla stronghold of Ramadi was a former Republican Guard officer.<ref>Mission Accomplished, Sean Langan, BBC, 2007</ref>

In late April 2004, a Pentagon report claimed that members of the Special Republican Guard had regrouped in the guerrilla stronghold of Fallujah.<ref>"A Pentagon intelligence report has concluded that many bombings against Americans and their allies in Iraq, and the more sophisticated of the guerrilla attacks in Fallujah, are organized and often carried out by members of Saddam Hussein's secret service ... in Fallujah, which is currently encircled by U.S. Marines, an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 hard-core insurgents, including members of the Iraqi Special Republican Guard who melted away under the U.S.-led offensive, are receiving tactical guidance and inspiration from these former intelligence operatives."   [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20040429&id=1IVIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tXADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6613,4899637 Saddam agents blamed for plots]</ref>

After dismissal, many members of the Republican Guard went on to join [[Combatants of the Iraq War|Sunni insurgent groups]], including groups such as [[The Return (guerrilla organization)|The Return]] (al-Awda), [[Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order|Naqshbandi Army]] (JRTN), [[Islamic Army in Iraq]] and the [[Islamic State]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/19/world/middleeast/former-loyalists-of-saddam-hussein-crucial-in-helping-isis.html|title=Uneasy Alliance Gives Insurgents an Edge in Iraq|first=Tim|last=Arango|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 18, 2014}}</ref>