US Air Force (USAF) General (GEN) Donald G. Cook, Commander of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), talks to Brigadier General (BGEN) Hoot Gibson, Commander of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW), during a high level visit to Balad Air Base, Iraq (IRQ), in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM

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.