Image Gallery: June 2007
Multinational Security Transition Command - Iraq
27 June 2007
BRIG West is the Commanding General of the Joint Headquarters Transition Team (JHQ-TT), which is a section of the Multinational Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I). He is responsible for a team of 55 Coalition senior officers whose job it is to train and mentor the Iraqi Joint Headquarters Staff. BRIG West accompanied the Minister on a visit to inspect the Iraqi 11th Division as it commences operations as part of Op Fardh Al Qanoon (the Baghdad Security Plan).
The Australian embeds in MNSTC-I, a predominantly American organisation, have a diverse range of responsibilities from Commanding General of the Iraqi Joint Headquarters Transition Team, Operations Officers and Training Advisors through to Senior Advisors to the Iraqi Joint Headquarters Staff. Their mission is to assist the Iraqi Security Forces to assume primary responsibility for the conduct of operations within Iraq. This includes the training of an effective Iraqi Joint Headquarters, the establishment of Joint Service training institutions and the building and implementation of a sustainable Iraqi logistic support system.
The Australian Defence Force has approximately 95 personnel embedded within Coalition forces supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
These embedded personnel, known as ‘Embeds’, comprise members of the Navy, Army and Air Force including Reservists and Defence civilians. They are employed in a variety of roles including specialist advisors, liaison and training officers and provide highly-valued support to Australia’s Coalition partners.
| 20070621adf8161441_001 Brigadier (BRIG) Rod West watches on as the Iraqi Minister of Defence, Mr Abdul Qadr, conducts an interview on local Iraqi television. (Date taken: 21 June 2007) Low Res | High Res |
 |
| 20070621adf8161441_002 Brigadier Rod West, Commanding General Joint Headquarters Transition Team - Iraq, prepares to lift off in a Blackhawk helicopter en route to Basrah in Southern Iraq. (Date taken: 21 June 2007) Low Res | High Res |
 |
| 20070621adf8161441_004 The view from inside a HUMVEE during a combined Iraqi / Coalition patrol through Northern Baghdad. Working closely with both American and Iraqi forces is an amazing experience for Australian embeds who gain a diverse range of operational experience through working with the Coalition. (Date taken: 21 June 2007) Low Res | High Res |
 |
| 20070621adf8161441_006 Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Jackson embedded with Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq (MNSTC-I), keeps his head down in a "duck and cover bunker" with a British colleague, as yet another rocket attack is fired by insurgents into the International Zone (IZ), Baghdad. The IZ is subject to rocket, mortar and small arms attacks on an almost daily basis. (Date taken: 21 June 2007) Low Res | High Res |
 |
| 20070621adf8161441_008 Australian officers serving with the Multinational Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I), from left to right, (standing): Major Lindsay Warren, Major Marcel Muller, Brigadier Rod West, Major Frank Brindle, Major Andy Weir, Lieutenant Colonel Tim Manton, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Jackson: Kneeling: Major Ged Lagerewskij and Major Chris West. (Date taken: 21 June 2007) Low Res | High Res |
 |
| 20070621adf8161441_010 With the Tigris River winding its way through Baghdad in the background, Major Ged Lagerewskij an embedded Officer with the Multinational Security Transition Command - Iraq, is pictured with members of the Iraqi Joint Headquarters Presidential Guard Unit who secure this strategic building. Sitting on the banks of the Tigris, the Iraqi Joint Headquarters building is the nerve centre for operations in Iraqi and is home for the Australian advisors who are helping to re-build the Iraqi Joint Staff system into a modern and effective organisation. (Date taken: 21 June 2007) Low Res | High Res |
 |
