Upon its formation Overwatch Battle Group (West) consisted of units which were previously assigned to the third, and final, rotation of the
Al Muthanna Task Group, following the handover of Camp Smitty to Iraqi Forces in July 2006. The Battle Group formed part of
Multi-National Division (South-East). An additional 38 personnel and four
Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles were deployed in late 2006 to increase the size of the force to over 500 soldiers supported by 40
ASLAVs and 19 Bushmasters. Total Australian strength in southern Iraq rose to over 500 personnel. Overwatch Battle Group (West)'s main role was to provide support to
Iraqi Security Forces in a crisis if requested by the Iraqi Government and the
Multi-National Force – Iraq. Whilst it was never called upon to act in this role, the Battle Group did conduct combat and security operations within the cities of An Nasiriyah and As Samawah, the provincial capitals of Dhi Qar and Al Muthana respectively, extensive patrolling within rural areas and on
Main Supply Routes (MSRs) to counter the indirect fire and improvised explosive device threat, training and mentoring of the Iraqi Army and Police, support to strike operations undertaken by United States Special Forces, and construction and re-construction work. The Battle Group's training team was responsible for providing basic training to
Iraqi Army personnel at the Basic Training Centre in Tallil. During the four rotations of the deployment, the battle group took part in a number of engagements, including the
Battle of Al Rumaythah, which occurred on 26 September 2006 and involved OBG(W) 1, and the
Battle of Route Bismarck, involving OBG(W) 2 over the period 23–24 April 2007. As the
Labor Party led by
Kevin Rudd pledged in the
2007 election, Australian combat forces began withdrawing from Iraq on 1 June 2008. and the Overwatch Battle Group (West) and Australian Army Training Team formally ceased combat operations on the 2 June 2008. No Australian military personnel were killed in the course of the deployment, during which the Australian contingent helped train 33,000 Iraqi soldiers. Approximately 200 Australian personnel remained in Iraq on logistical and air surveillance duties after its withdrawal. ==Rotations==