U.S. Army SGT. Rex Gates, Combat Medic, 45th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), sits inside the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter at Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, on Spet. 12, 2004, in preparation for an evacuation mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (U.S. Army photo by SGT. Jose M. Hernandez) (Released)

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.