The OIF GenerationA field guide to the Iraq War and the generation that fought it
Year by Year ยท 2005

2005: Elections and Counterinsurgency

Iraqi voters display ink-marked fingers after casting their ballots.
Iraqi voters display ink-marked fingers after casting their ballots. U.S. government photo (public domain)

Three votes

Iraqis voted three times in 2005: on January 30 for a transitional national assembly, on October 15 in a referendum that approved a new constitution, and on December 15 for a full-term parliament. U.S. forces provided security for each vote, and images of Iraqis displaying ink-stained fingers became symbols of the year.

Tal Afar

In September the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, commanded by Col. H.R. McMaster, led Operation Restoring Rights in the northern city of Tal Afar. Combining combat operations with outposts that held cleared neighborhoods and programs to restore services, the operation became one of the first widely cited counterinsurgency successes of the war. See Tal Afar.

Recognizing combat service

In 2005 the Army created the Combat Action Badge, recognizing soldiers outside infantry and special forces who personally engaged or were engaged by the enemy. It recognized the reality of a war without front lines, in which truck drivers, military police, and mechanics fought as often as infantry. See Combat Badges.

The campaigns

The Iraqi Governance campaign ran through December 15, 2005. The National Resolution campaign began the next day.