US Army (USA) Sergeant First Class (SFC) Puentes, assigned to Bravo Company, 1-185th Armor, 81st Armor Brigade, uses binoculars to scan the perimeter from the M2 .50 caliber machine gun position atop his M2A2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV), during a reconnaissance patrol near Balad, Iraq, during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM

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.