{"id":116412,"date":"2018-08-07T20:08:18","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T20:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/07\/new-iraq-mission-emerges-for-marines\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:12:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:12:02","slug":"new-iraq-mission-emerges-for-marines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2018\/08\/07\/new-iraq-mission-emerges-for-marines\/","title":{"rendered":"New Iraq mission emerges for Marines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Marines conducting embassy security<\/a> assignments will soon have another Middle East consulate to look forward to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The largest U.S. consulate complex in the world is currently under construction in Erbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region<\/a>. The State Department reports the new facility will span 51 acres and cost roughly $600 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The compound is estimated to be completed in 2022. And like all U.S. consulates, Marines will be posted there as security guards, according to Operation Inherent Resolve\u2019s latest quarterly report to Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe new consulate complex will include a new office building, Marine security guard<\/a> residence, consulate general residence, shops, maintenance facilities, perimeter security, staff housing, visitor accommodations, and a community center with bathhouse [and] cabana,\u201d the quarterly report<\/a> reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rendering of the new U.S. consulate compound to be built in Erbil, Kurdistan. (State Department)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The State Department awarded the original construction contract in June 2017 for $422 million. Over the past year, seven contract modifications were approved, adding another $9.5 million to the construction costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Construction is underway. At the end of June this year, the State Department reported that builders had completed the perimeter of the complex, a housing compound for State\u2019s overseas construction managers and a construction staging area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman and the Kurdistan Regional Government\u2019s prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani, announced the start of construction with a ceremony on April 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement delivered then, Barzani said that the new compound\u2019s construction \u201cis a sign of U.S. confidence and trust in the Kurdistan region, now and in its future … within the framework of a federal Iraq,\u201d according to local news outlet Kurdistan 24<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hope [the construction of a new compound for the US Consulate] will lead to an important, strategic, and long-term partnership with the Kurdistan region,\u201c Barzani said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t