The military base lies in a desert area close to the Euphrates Valley, about 200 km west of Baghdad. The battle line against the ISIL extremist movement lies 20 km further west. Although the main thrust of the war effort against ISIL currently aims at Mosul in the north of the country, the Czech Army's Field Surgical Team is working hard saving the lives and health not only of Iraqi soldiers wounded in intermittent clashes on the nearby war front, but also of Iraqi civilians who fall victim to improvised explosive devices planted by ISIL or to severe non-war injuries whose treatment cannot be adequately provided for by civilian medical facilities available in the area.

Czech surgeons and their support staff are rubbing shoulders - sometimes literally, in one surgery room - with colleagues from the armies of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. They also provide expert training to surgeons and other medical staff of the Iraqi Army who are deployed in an adjacent part of the base.

During the Chief of Staff's visit, the Czech Field Surgical Team heard emphatic praise for their efforts not only from General Bečvář himself, but also from the Iraqi and US military commanders of the base. Their deployment is planned to last until the end of May 2017.

In addition to the field surgical team, the Czech Army also operates a team of air force advisors at the Balad Air Base, who train Iraqi pilots in the operation of Czech-produced L-159 Alca light combat aircraft.