Townsend, Stephen J (Lieutenant General US Army 'Coalition against ISIS')

Collection relating to the service of Australian Defence Force personnel of the international Coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, 2017.

Wallet 1 of 1 - Contains a letter of congratulations from United States Army Lieutenant General Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, to the Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, Sailors, Police Officers and Civilians of the Coalition for their role in liberating Mosul from the control of ISIS, dated 17 July 2017. The letter was displayed on a noticeboard at Australian Headquarters at the Taji Military Complex in Baghdad.

The Battle of Mosul was a major military campaign launched by Iraqi Government forces, the Kurdistan Regional Government and international coalition forces on 16 October 2016 to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which was seized in June 2014. The battle was the single largest military operation since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and spanned just over nine months concluding on 20 July 2017.

United States Army Lieutenant General Stephen J. Townsend was appointed commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) on 21 August 2016. CJTF–OIR was formally established by the United States Department of Defense on 17 October 2014 with the stated mission to defeat ISIS in designated areas of Iraq and Syria and set conditions for follow-up operations to increase regional stability. CJTF–OIR is a United States-led international coalition comprising military forces and personnel from over 30 countries including Australia.