On March 14, Brigadier General Noor Aldeen and the Military Transition Team for the 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division toured the combat outposts owned by the 2nd Battalion, which is commanded by Colonel Hajji. The 2nd Battalion does not have US advisors assigned to it, but the battalion is considered the best in the brigade. Colonel Hajji is an aggressive commander who takes the initiative, the US advisors stated. He also leaves much of the planning work for his staff to complete, which is a rarity in Iraq’s top-down leadership model that often stifles innovation by junior officers. This slideshow will show some of the outposts in the 2nd Battalion’s area of operations in eastern Mosul.
