page_title: Camp Taji
section_title: Joint base
hierarchical_section_title: Camp Taji / Joint base
caption_attribution_description: English: Members of the Qwat al Khasah, The Special Forces of Iraq, greet higher ranking officers who have to come to speak to their troops as they train for an upcoming mission with United States Special Operations Forces at Camp Taji, March 7, 2020. The QK are leading a coalition of nations in the fight against Daesh by interrupting enemy operations to continue the further stabilization of Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Robert Douglas).
context_page_description: Camp Taji, also known as Camp Cooke, is a military installation used by coalition forces near Taji, Iraq. The camp is located in a rural region approximately 27 km north of the capital Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate.
context_section_description: Camp Taji is now known as one of many United States camps that also house members of the new Iraqi Army and the Iraqi National Guard. It is also being used to train the newly established Iraqi Air Force. Camp Taji is broken up between two Camps that are joined by a joint Iraqi/US gate. The Iraqi side, called Camp Bennet, is where the Iraqi troops, as well as the Transition Teams live. There is great controversy over the fact that the camp is divided, between "US and them". Much has been written on the subject, but with a simple look at the two camps one can see that there is a great difference in the quality of life on the two sides of the camp.
  The base is used by the Military intervention against ISIL under Task Force Taji (TFT) and is home to multiple units which train Iraqi military personnel.
  Units include:
  Taji Military Complex Guarding and Protection Battalion.
  Since April 2015, the Australian Army has maintained a several hundred strong training team at the base, designated Task Group Taji. The New Zealand Defence Force also contributes personnel to the task group. The first rotation was commanded by Colonel Matt Galton. By the end of June 2018, seven rotations had trained more than 34,000 Iraqi soldiers.
  The commanders have been:
  TGT 1 –
  TGT 2 –
  TGT 3 – Colonel Andrew Lowe, Australia until December 8, 2016.
  Training Task Unit – Lieutenant Colonel David McCammon, DSM.
  TGT 4 – Colonel Richard Vagg, Australia from December 8, 2016.
caption: Iraqi Special Operations Forces greet higher ranking officers during training at Camp Taji, March 2020
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