U.S. troops leave Iraq

The U.S. military formally ended its mission in Iraq after nearly nine years of war and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

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Dec. 24, 2011

Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry 3rd Brigade march onto the parade grounds at Fort Hood, Tex., upon their return home from deployment in Iraq. These troops were in the last convoy to leave Iraq.

Erich Schlegel / AP

Dec. 24, 2011

A soldier from the 1st Cavalry Division 3rd Brigade hugs a family member during a ceremony to welcome the unit home at Fort Hood, Tex.

Lucas Jackson / Reuters

Dec. 24, 2011

Maj. Thomas Whipple walks to the car with his family at Fort Hood, Tex., as soldiers from the Army's 1st Cavalry 3rd Brigade returned home from deployment in Iraq.

Erich Schlegel / AP

Dec. 23, 2011

Spec. John Lundy and Spec. Matthew Sturgill, obscured, leap into the arms of Pfc. Devin Horton at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh, Ind., as 109 members of the 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry, Army National Guard, prepare to board a bus home to Kentucky and join their families for the holidays. As part of the last soldiers to leave Iraq, the men arrived at Camp Atterbury on Dec. 21.

Andrew Laker / AP

Dec. 15, 2011

Members of the U.S. military rest on board an Air Force C-130 transport plane marking the end of their presence in Iraq after departing the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center in Baghdad.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Dec. 18, 2011

The last convoy of solders from the Army's 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division crosses from Iraq into Kuwait, bringing an end to the nearly nine-year war.

Maya Alleruzzo / AP

Dec. 18, 2011

Soldiers run to wave to comrades as a section of the last U.S. military convoy to depart Iraq crosses the border into Kuwait at Camp Virginia. About 500 troops from the Army’s 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division ended their presence at Contingency Operating Base Adder, the last U.S. military base in Iraq, and arrived in Kuwait early Dec. 18.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

Dec. 17, 2011

Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division rejoice in the convoy staging area before departing Contingency Operating Base Adder near Nasiriyah, Iraq. The soldiers rolled into Kuwait at daybreak, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief.

Mario Tama / AP

Dec. 17, 2011

U.S. troops play football before leaving Contingency Operating Base Adder, which is now known as Imam Ali Base.

Martin Bureau / AFP/Getty Images

Dec. 17, 2011

Spec. Shunterika Lewis from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division laughs while preparing to depart Iraq.

Mario Tama / AP

Dec. 17, 2011

Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division embrace while preparing to depart Iraq.

Mario Tama / AP

Dec. 17, 2011

U.S. soldiers board the last C-17 plane at Contingency Operating Base Adder.

Martin Bureau / AFP/Getty Images

Dec. 18, 2011

A line of armored vehicles from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division drives south on Iraq Highway 1 toward Kuwait.

Lucas Jackson / AP

Dec. 15, 2011

Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, carry their bags to waiting trucks at Camp Virginia in Kuwait, as they prepare to board buses that will take them to planes on which they will fly home to Fort Hood, Tex.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Dec. 15, 2011

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, center, speaks during ceremonies in Baghdad marking the end of the U.S. military mission in Iraq. Panetta said the conflict — which lasted nearly nine years, cost more than $800 billion, and resulted in the deaths of 4,487 American service members along with 32,000 wounded — was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy.

Khalid Mohammed / AP

Dec. 15, 2011

An Iraqi officer, center, and U.S. Army soldiers salute during the Dec. 15 ceremonies in Baghdad.

Khalid Mohammed / AP

Dec. 15, 2011

U.S. military personnel bow their heads in prayer during a casing ceremony Dec. 15 at the former Sather Air Base in Baghdad at which the banner for the U.S. Forces-Iraq flag was retired.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

Dec. 15, 2011

U.S. military personnel pose for a picture before the start of the Dec. 15 ceremony at the former U.S. Sather Air Base near Baghdad.

Mohammed Ameen / Reuters

Dec. 15, 2011

Soldiers from the Army’s 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, prepare to board buses at Camp Virginia, Kuwait.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Dec. 15, 2011

Soldiers from 1st Cavalry Division begin their journey home to Fort Hood, Tex.

Maya Alleruzzo / AP

Dec. 14, 2011

President Obama greets troops at Fort Bragg, N.C. The visit helped marked the end of the Iraq war with a tribute to the troops who fought and died.

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Nov. 10, 2011

U.S. troops arrive for a welcome-home ceremony after returning from Iraq in Fort Carson, Colo. More than 100 soldiers from the 549th Quartermaster Company, 43rd Sustainment Brigade returned after a seven-month deployment. They played a key role in removing excess equipment from Iraq as other troops withdrew from the region.

John Moore / Getty Images

Nov. 10, 2011

Family and friends welcome U.S. troops returning from Iraq in Fort Carson, Colo.

John Moore / Getty Images

Nov. 10, 2011

A service member gets a hug during a welcome-home ceremony in Fort Carson, Colo.

John Moore / Getty Images

Nov. 17, 2011

Tyrone Thurton stands with his son, Damina, after they met for the first time shortly after Thurton landed at the Joint Forces Training Base at Los Alamitos, Calif. Thurton and other soldiers from the California National Guard's 640th Aviation Support Battalion returned after being deployed for a year in Iraq.

Mark Rightmire / AP

Nov. 10, 2011

U.S. Army soldiers pose for a photo at a welcome-home ceremony in Fort Carson, Colo., for troops returning from Iraq.

John Moore / Getty Images

Dec. 1, 2011

Vice President Biden and other U.S. and Iraqi officials stand for the national anthem during a ceremony in Baghdad, one of several planned to mark the end of the U.S. military presence in Iraq. The last 13,000 U.S. troops will pull out of Iraq by the end of the year.

/ Iraqi government via Reuters

Dec. 3, 2011

Empty flagpoles stand inside Camp Adder, a U.S. base near Nasiriyah, Iraq.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Dec. 3, 2011

Tire tracks in Camp Adder, a U.S. base near Nasiriyah, Iraq.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Nov. 7, 2011

A U.S. soldier tours Al-Faw Palace in the Camp Victory compount of Baghdad before it is handed over to the Iraqi government. President Obama announced Oct. 21 that U.S. troops would fully withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year, as scheduled under a 2008 security pact between the two countries.

Saad Shalash / Reuters

Nov. 7, 2011

A U.S. Army soldier holds keys to Saddam Hussein's Al-Faw Palace at the Camp Victory, shortly before the complex's handover to the Iraqi government.

Khalid Mohammed / AP

Nov. 7, 2011

A U.S. Army soldier inspects the late Saddam Hussein's interrogation room at Camp Victory in Baghdad before the complex's handover to the Iraqi government.

Khalid Mohammed / AP

Nov. 1, 2011

Bags and weapons are lined up on the tarmac as troops prepare for their flight out of Iraq.

Ali al-Saadi / AFP/Getty Images

Nov. 1, 2011

A U.S. airman naps in al-Asad's terminal while waiting for his flight home.

Mohammed Ameen / Reuters

Nov. 1, 2011

A flight carrying members of the Air Force takes off from al-Asad.

Mohammed Ameen / Reuters

Oct. 21, 2011

President Obama announces the end to U.S. military operations in Iraq. Obama announced that he would withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of the year, nearly nine years after the U.S. invasion and after more than 4,400 U.S. deaths.

Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images

July 18, 2010

An Uncle Sam poster is propped to the side as U.S. Army soldiers from the 49th Military Police Brigade pack up their belongings to ship home from Camp Victory in Baghdad. The soldiers, based in Fairfield, Calif., were heading home after 10 months in Iraq.

Maya Alleruzzo / AP

June 7, 2005

U.S. Army Pfc. Stephen Thomas of Gainesville, Fla., jumps into a swimming pool at Camp Victory in Baghdad. The base became the iconic stomping ground for U.S. troops in Iraq.

Jacob Silberberg / AP

Dec. 24, 2009

A U.S. soldier takes a souvenir shot of fellow soldiers sitting in a chair that belonged to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein after a Christmas Eve service at Camp Victory in 2009. It was the seventh Christmas that U.S. troops celebrated in Iraq.

Ali al-Saadi / AFP/Getty Images

June 24, 2010

Hundreds of armored U.S. military vehicles crowd Camp Victory, the sprawling military base at the edge of the Baghdad airport, as American troops sort through the supplies that must be taken home, sent to Afghanistan or destroyed, two months ahead of a deadline that served as a precursor for a complete U.S. military pullout from Iraq.

Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 29, 2011

Soldiers enjoy the last few days of all-American food in a mess hall at Camp Victory, to be shut down this year as Americans continue moving out. Soldiers there have enjoyed comforts of home in the chow halls, which have salad bars, grill stations and ice cream. Saddam Hussein built the hunting retreat and resort that would become Camp Victory in the 15 years leading up to the U.S. led-invasion, sparing no expense on nine palaces and villas ringing man-made lakes.

Annie Gowen / The Washington Post

May 9, 2011

U.S. Army soldiers walk past the building that served as a jail cell for Saddam Hussein and his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, or "Chemical Ali." The building still stands on the grounds of Camp Victory. As the United States plans to reduce its military forces to zero by Dec. 31, Hussein's palaces will be handed over to the Shiite-led Iraqi government that replaced the Sunni dictator.

Khalid Mohammed / AP

Aug. 16, 2011

Lt. Col. Jerry Brooks, an Army historian, shows how soldiers have taken strings of glass beads home as souvenirs from Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory.

Annie Gowen / The Washington Post

April 26, 2011

A U.S. Army soldier walks down a spiral staircase in April inside Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory. The palace was a retreat for Saddam Hussein and is the centerpiece of the sprawling camp, with with 62 rooms, 29 bathrooms, a sweeping marble rotunda and soaring chandelier.

Khalid Mohammed / AP

April 26, 2011

U.S. Army soldiers walk through the Victory over Iran palace at Camp Victory in April. Over the years, the base became a well-guarded cocoon, with its own hospital, electrical grid and bottled water plant, ringed by a 27-mile perimeter of blast walls and concertina wire.

Khalid Mohammed / AP

Aug. 29, 2011

In a hangar at Camp Victory, Army Sgt. 1st Class Donald Smith, right, turns in a stack of computer hard drives to Pvt. Xavier Mills to be packed and shipped home.

Annie Gowen / The Washington Post

Aug. 29, 2011

Don Helle, a civilian with the Defense Logistics Agency, shows off a carton of bullets that will be shipped to Kuwait and turned into scrap.

Annie Gowen / The Washington Post

Aug. 29, 2011

A crane at Camp Victory moves containers of military supplies to be shipped back home or to other theaters overseas as the U.S. Army prepares to leave Iraq.

Annie Gowen / The Washington Post

Aug. 29, 2011

Brigadier Gen. Bradley A. Becker shows a picture of himself sharing a nonalcoholic beer with Arnold Schwarzenegger, then the governor of California. Schwarzenegger was one of many celebrities to visit Camp Victory over the years; Becker said he reminisced about his days as a private in the Austrian army.

Annie Gowen / The Washington Post

April 26, 2011

The Victory over America Palace at Camp Victory in April.

Khalid Mohammed / AP

Aug. 29, 2011

A tile mural in a remote corner of Camp Victory stands as one of the few tributes in Iraq to Saddam Hussein that has not been defaced.

Annie Gowen / The Washington Post

July 1, 2004

Saddam Hussein appears in a courtroom at Camp Victory in July 2004. He was hanged in December 2006.

/ AP

Aug. 29, 2011

"Flintstone Village," a ghostly structure in a far corner of Camp Victory that Saddam Hussein built for his grandchildren to play in.

Annie Gowen / The Washington Post

Dec. 14, 2008

Then-president George W. Bush speaks to U.S. troops at the Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory during an unannounced visit to Baghdad. The trip marked Bush's fourth visit to the country during his presidency.

Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images

Sept. 16, 2008

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates shakes hands with a reporter while walking with Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell, right, before a TV interview on Camp Victory.

Jerry Morrison / AP

2005

The Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory.

U.S. Army

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