Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion

36th Commando Battalion
36th Commando Battalion Official Insignia
Active	December 26, 2003 - Present
Country	Iraq
Branch	Iraqi Army/Counter Terrorist Bureau
Type	Special Operations
Size	Classified
Part of	1st Special Operations Brigade, Iraqi Counter Terrorist Command
Engagements	Anti-guerilla operations in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom

The Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion (36th CDO BN) is one of several Iraqi Special Operations Units that have emerged since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. Originally part of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces Brigade (ISOF BDE), this aggressive unit has a role comparable to that of the United States Army Rangers in the War on terror. The unit is now designated the 1st Commando Battalion, part of the 1st Special Operations Brigade.

Commonly confused with other units that called themselves Commandos after the creation of the 36th Commandos; this unit is one of the most combat experienced/proven units in the new Iraqi Army.

On 25 November 2003 a decision was made between the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), the Commander United States Central Command (CDRCENTCOM), the Commander Combined Joint Task Force 7 (CDR CJTF-7), and the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC). These elements agreed to form a Baghdad-based, 500-man battalion by integrating militiamen from five (5) Political Parties: Iraqi National Accord (INA), Iraqi National Congress (INC), Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). The men would be well-trained, physically fit, and would serve the new Iraqi nation and not just one party. Although the battalion was created from its inception to be a special forces commando battalion that would conduct offensive operations, the decision was made to initially mask its purpose. At the time, each U.S. Army division serving in Iraq was tasked to create Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) units, and the composite commando unit creation was hidden in this effort.