The 150th Peacekeeping Battalion () is a military unit of the

Armed Forces of Mongolia The Mongolian Armed Forces ( mn, Монгол Улсын Зэвсэгт Хүчин; ''Mongol: ulsyn zevsegt hüchin'') is the collective name for the Mongolian military and the joint forces that comprise it. It is tasked with protecting the inde ...

. It was the first unit that designated for peace-support operations. Operatively, it reports to the Peacekeeping Operations Office (PKOO) of the

General Staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Mongolia () is a permanent military body in Mongolia. According to the Law on the Armed forces, General Staff is the professional managing body and the headquarters for the Mongolian Armed Forces and operate ...

, being deployed in the city of

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

History

In 1997, the Mongolian armed forces established the battalion as primarily a combat unit. By order of President

Natsagiin Bagabandi Natsagiin Bagabandi ( mn, Нацагийн Багабанди; born April 22, 1950) is a Mongolian politician and the Director of Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Previously, he was the President of Mongolia from 1997 to 2005, and a member of the Mongolian P ...

however, its duties changed in preparation for peacekeeping missions. Later, the battalion started conducting peacekeeping operations training an in September 2000, one platoon from the battalion participated in CENTRAZBAT 2000 in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, the country's first ever multinational peacekeeping field exercise. It also took part in the multinational peacekeeping exercise SHANTEE-DOOT in Bangladesh in 2002. In 2010, it was trained by

US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and the

Alaska National Guard The Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs manages military and veterans affairs for the U.S. state of Alaska. It comprises a number of subdepartments, including the Alaska National Guard, Veterans Affairs, the Division of Homeland Sec ...

. It has taken part in the

Khaan Quest Khaan Quest ( mn, Хааны эрэлд) is an annual military exercise held in Mongolia for a week in the summer. It brings together over a dozen foreign militaries to engage in the sharing of practices for multinational peacekeeping operations. ...

exercise.

Operations

Iraq

In early 2004, the then-

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Richard Myers Richard Bowman Myers (born March 1, 1942) is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As chairman, Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United Stat ...

, visited Mongolia and expressed his appreciation for the deployment of a 173-strong contingent from the battalion to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, which was planned to send a fresh force to replace the first contingent later in January 2004. All troops were withdrawn on September 25, 2008.

Africa

On November 17, 2009,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Assistant Secretary of Defense is a title used for many high-level executive positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the U.S. Department of Defense. The Assistant Secretary of Defense title is junior to Under Secretary of Defen ...

James Schear had lunch with troops from the battalion bound for Chad on November 20, 2009.

References

{{Reflist Military units and formations of Mongolia Military units and formations established in 1997 1997 establishments in Mongolia Peacekeeping Infantry battalions

History

Operations

Iraq

Africa

See also

References