Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq included 14 F/A-18 Hornet fighters). Combat forces committed to Operation Falconer for the 2003 Invasion were withdrawn during 2003. Under the name Operation Catalyst, Australian combat troops were redeployed to Iraq in 2005, however, and assumed responsibility for supporting Iraqi security forces in one of Iraq's southern provinces. These troops began withdrawing from Iraq on 1 June 2008 and were completely withdrawn by 28 July 2009. A headquarters staff of about 60 personnel under the command of Brigadier Maurie McNarn. Planning for the deployment of ADF units to the Middle East began in mid-2002 when Australian officers were attached to
Rationale for the Iraq War troops remained in the country until all American troops were withdrawn from Iraq by December 2011; meanwhile American troops also engaged in combat with Iraqi insurgents. In June 2014, however, U.S. forces were reinstated in Iraq due to the escalation of instability in the region and as of June 2015, the number of American ground troops totaled to 3,550. Between December 2011 and June 2014, Department of Defense officials estimated that there were 200 to 300 personnel based at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The 1991 Gulf War never fully ended because no armistice formally ended it. As a result,