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May 18, 2004

Two New Iraqi Military Commands Replace Single Coalition’s CJTF7

Two new military commands became operational in Iraq on May 15, 2004, replacing the current Coalition military organization. Multinational Corps Iraq and Multinational Force Iraq replaced Combined Joint Task Force 7 (CJTF7). It had been considered that a combined joint task force headquarters was not sufficient to handle the military workload in Iraq. Multinational Corps Iraq was to focus on the tactical, day-to-day military operations and the maneuvering of the six multinational divisions on the ground. US Army Lt.-Gen. Thomas F. Metz was named to command the corps. Meanwhile, Multinational Force Iraq, under the command of US Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, and former CJTF7 commander, was to focus on more strategic aspects of the Coalition military presence in Iraq, such as talking with Iraqi social and political leaders, and on training, equipping and fielding Iraqi security forces.