U.S. Army STAFF SGT. Cesar Sanchez from B battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division offers a safety briefing to his troops before going out on a mission in Forward Operation Base Remagen Iraq on April 18, 2006. The 101st Airborne Division is currently deployed in the Tikrit area and Northern Iraq on support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.(U.S. Army photo by SPC. Teddy Wade) (Released)

Iraq War aka Operation IRAQI FREEDOM was the 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by U.S. Army General Tommy Franks, under the code-name "Operation Iraqi Freedom". 248,000 soldiers from the United States, 45,000 British soldiers, 2,000 Australian soldiers and 194 Polish soldiers from Special Forces unit GROM sent to Kuwait for the invasion. The invasion force was also supported by Iraqi Kurdish militia troops, estimated to number upwards of 70,000.