Command of NATO's training mission in Iraq passed to France this week, with Major General Christophe Hintzy taking over from Dutch Lieutenant General Lucas Schreurs at a ceremony in Baghdad.
Hintzy told those gathered that the mission would keep working alongside Iraqi security institutions toward solutions built to last, not just to look good on paper. Schreurs, closing out a year in the post, thanked Iraqi officials for their cooperation and described the mission's foundation as trust, support and respect for Iraqi sovereignty.
A mission now in its seventh year
NATO Mission Iraq has operated out of Baghdad since October 2018, launched at the Iraqi government's own request. It remains strictly advisory and training-focused, with no combat role, aimed at building security institutions accountable to the Iraqi state itself. Ahead of the handover, NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Operations, Tom Goffus, sat in on the second session of the NATO-Iraq High Level Dialogue for Partnership — the standing channel through which the two sides raise shared security concerns.