This is a major milestone in the long fight against the self-called Islamic State: on April 30 in Baghdad, the U.S. armed forces folded down the flag on the headquarters of the coalition's ground component in Iraq.

Maj. Gen. Walter Piatt, commander of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command (CJFLCC) and the 10th Mountain Division, and his senior enlisted adviser, Command Sgt. Maj. Samuel Roark, presided at the deactivation ceremony for CJFLCC. (Picture source: US DoD)

Maj. Gen. Walter Piatt, commander of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command (CJFLCC) and the 10th Mountain Division, and his senior enlisted adviser, Command Sgt. Maj. Samuel Roark, presided at the deactivation ceremony for CJFLCC. "Casing the CJFLCC colors is a symbolic gesture, honoring the perseverance and sacrifice of our coalition partners," Piatt said in a statement. "Thanks to our partnered success, we are able to continue to support the government of Iraq under the command of CJTF-OIR [Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve]," added Piatt, who has led the land component since March.

Since 2014, when ISIS fighters were at the gates of Baghdad, CJFLCC has supplied the coalition ground forces who partnered on the battlefield with the Iraqi Security Forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga in retaking Ramadi, Fallujah, Mosul and other major cities and reducing ISIS to pockets of resistance.

The 10th Mountain troops of CJFLCC will now focus through CJTF-OIR on training and advising the ISF in the buildup of its capabilities to maintain security, with emphasis on the Iraq-Syria border region. A coalition statement said the mission was shifting "from supporting and enabling combat operations to the training and development of self-sufficient Iraqi security-related capabilities." The closing of the CJFLCC headquarters signaled the end of major combat operations ahead of next month's scheduled parliamentary elections in Iraq.

U.S. air forces in recent weeks have begun shifting out of Iraq to bolster the air campaign in Afghanistan.