The 1st Battalion relieved the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry at Camp Taji, northwest of Baghdad just in time to participate in the second battle for Fallujah.

On 11 November, the battalion was ordered to move north to Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city to deal with increased insurgent activity. The Bobcats were assigned responsibility for a wide area that extended to the outlying villages and hamlets to the south and west of the city.

The search for information about the local insurgents was the first crucial challenge faced by the battalion. It initially relied on mass arrests, random traffic stops, and intelligence gathered from Iraqis who frequently wanted revenge for the murder of a family member. An Information Operations Team spread word of the battalion’s successes, emphasized the damage created by the terrorists and sought to mitigate any damage done by the coalition forces. A Civil Affairs Team went from village to village talking to the tribal and religious leaders, determining their major needs and drafting projects to be completed with U.S. funds.

Throughout January, 2005, the battalion interdicted insurgents attempting to enter or leave the city as it prepared for the Iraqi national elections. Election Day, in late January, ended without a major incident. Iraqis had been able to vote for the first time in 50 years and they began to demonstrate a change in sentiment. An increased number of citizens began pointing out the homes and safe houses of enemy combatants.

Following the election, there was a shift in focus as the battalion dedicated the bulk of its time to making the Iraqi security forces more successful. Given the high degree of enemy threat in Mosul, most of the training had to be on-the-job, conducted during combat patrols. These patrols discovered many large weapons caches and many types of IED’s. These daily encounters continued right up until September 11, when the Bobcats yielded control of their area of operations to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Tomahawks.

First Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, including 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry received the Valorous Unit Award for its fight to secure Mosul.