Last Iraq commander returns to US with military flag

The final commander of U.S. forces in Iraq returned to American soil Tuesday for a traditional ceremony marking the end of the military operation in Iraq.

Gen. Lloyd Austin, who oversaw the final withdrawal of U.S. forces and equipment from Iraq, returned the U.S. Forces-Iraq command flag Wednesday in a ceremony that included President Obama, Vice President Biden and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey.

The war in Iraq officially ended on Sunday when the last U.S. troops left Iraq into Kuwait. Obama noted the end of the war last Wednesday with a speech to troops at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina.

Obama and Biden did not speak at Tuesday's event. The president and vice president greeted about two-dozen service members as they got off the plane before the ceremony.

Austin said the military mission in Iraq had come to “a successful conclusion” and thanked troops for a “job extremely well done.”

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