Defence Minister Robert Hill said the team will be drawn primarily from 1 Bde and will deploy for about six months.

"Our soldiers currently serving with Coalition military assistance training teams have already played a major part in graduating the first four battalions of the Iraqi army," he said.

"The major element [to deploy with the team] is a team of 40 soldiers who will be responsible for training three Iraqi army battalions and the brigade headquarters staff."

Senator Hill said an extra detachment of security personnel and an additional two ASLAVs from
1 Bde will deploy to provide security for the training teams, as the Iraqi training base was located outside Baghdad, away from the Australian Task Force headquarters.

Additionaly, the seven officer positions allocated to the British Army on Op Osier will transfer later this month to the UK headquarters in southern Iraq.

The officers deployed to these positions will be the first Australians to work directly in support of UK forces in Iraq and will be employed primarily on rehabilitation, community building and governance tasks.

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