NATO Mission Iraq, Iraq (NMI-HQ)

Combined joint task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR)

Basic information:

At the NATO Summit in Brussels in July 2018, following a request from the Iraqi government, Allied leaders issued direction to launch a new training mission in Iraq called NATO Mission Iraq (NMI). This new mission was established in Baghdad in October 2018.

NATO Mission Iraq is focused on mentoring and advising Iraqi national defence structures and military education institutions, through a series of activities conducted with full respect for Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is designed to help Iraqi security structures and institutions further develop and sustain their capacity, so they can ensure ISIS/Daesh does not return. Through this mission, NATO provides technical advice to relevant Iraqi defence and security officials within the Ministry of Defence, the Office of the National Security Advisor, and Iraqi military schools and institutions. In those institutions, the mission is helping Iraq develop its capacity to build more sustainable, transparent, inclusive and effective national  security structures and professional military education institutions, through the formation of a self-sustaining cadre of Iraqi instructors. NATO works closely with the Iraqi Ministry of Defence to train members of the Iraqi Military under the direct control of the Government of Iraq.

NATO Mission Iraq includes up to several hundred trainers, advisers and support staff from Allied countries and non-NATO partners. It includes military and civilian personnel who operate in a fully integrated manner through various specialized programmes. In all of its activities, NATO Mission Iraq aims at promoting key aspects, including leadership formation and gender issues, including with respect to their impact on the preservation of peace and security.

Since its establishment, NATO Mission Iraq has developed into an effective and credible partner to the Government of Iraq, helping to move the NATO-Iraq partnership forward. It focuses its efforts on several Iraqi professional military education institutions and training schools in Baghdad, Besmayah and Taji.

Activities of NMI throughout Iraq:
Bagdad:
- Ministry of Defence
- Office of the National Security Advisor
- Prime Minister’s National Operation Centre
- Defence University for Military Studies
- Computer Science School
- Military Medical School

Besmayah:
- Iraqi Army Bomb Disposal School
- Iraqi Armour School

Taji:
- School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
- School of Military Engineering
- School of Transportation and Supply
- School of Administration and Logistics
- School of Military Communications
- Military Intelligence and Security School
- Non Commissioned Officers Academy


The engagement of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (AF SR) in NMI:

1. HQ NMI – the main task of AF SR members deployed to HQ NMI is to conduct mentoring and advising of Iraqi Security and Defence Forces (ISDF) personnel and perform daily duties as staff members,
          a.     Location – Forward Operations Base UNION III, Baghdad, Iraq
2. cooperation with US in Iraq (NMI US) – the main task of this element of the AF SR unit in Iraq is training and advising ISDF personnel in cooperation with US partners, with the aim to help build a competent and self-sustaining force, that is capable of providing security throughout Iraq. AF SR members are SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) and advisors at ministerial level (MoD and MoI) and at professional development and training institutions of the ISDF.
          a.     Location – FOB UNION III, Baghdad, Iraq.