Muqdadiyah
Muqdadiyah [Al Miqdadiyah, Miqdadiyah, Muqdadiyh, Shahroban or Shahraban - 33?58'43"N 044?56'13"E ] is an insect-infested, agricultural village 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad and northeast of Baqouba. The Mujahedeen Khalq [MEK] is an Iranian opposition group allowed by Saddam to be based in northern Iraq whose objective was the overthrow Iran. The 4ID peacefully disarmed this armed military force which in May 2003, some of whom surrendered at Camp Normandy.

Camp Normandy / FOB Normandy / FOB Cobra
For the men of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, of the 4th Infantry Division, major combat operations didn't end when President Bush said so on May 1. They were just beginning.Temperatures were so intense that in a two-day period in August 2003, 60 soldiers in 2nd Battalion suffered heat exhaustion and had to be revived by intravenous fluids. By November 2003 they were patrolling the empty afternoon markets of Muqdadiyah. Charlie Troop, 10th Cavalry Regiment, was in Muqdadiyah as of October 2003.

Forward Operating Base Cobra is where C Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry called home as of October 2003. They patrol and secure the area around Al Muqdadiyah. The unit once lived in hot tents, now they live in modular trailers. The change was welcomed.

In the town of Muqdadiyah in the evening of 16 December 2003, soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry were in the vicinity of the PUK headquarters when individuals using automatic weapons fired at them from the rooftop. The soldiers returned fire and wounded one attacker. Five others fled. The soldiers confiscated two AK-47 assault rifles, still hot from being fired.

Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment killed 10 armed men who appeared to be establishing an ambush position north of Muqdadiyah on Feb. 9 after they failed to respond to the soldiers' orders, according to Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials. Officials said the men were armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The soldiers, who were conducting a patrol, issued orders to the armed men but fired when the armed men did not respond. The soldiers recovered five AK-47 assault rifles, four rocket-propelled grenade launchers, five rocket-propelled grenades, two RPK machine guns, two hand grenades and a pair of night vision goggles. All the weapons were confiscated and taken to the patrol's forward operating base.