Direct proof of use
The M119 is documented in the 2003 Iraq War through U.S. Army reporting on Operation Iraqi Freedom. A 2015 Army article says the M119 saw extensive use in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, including repeated high-angle, high-charge missions in austere conditions in support of combat troops.
Official imagery adds dated Iraq context. A DVIDS image record places soldiers from Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery training with an M119 outside Camp Liberty, Iraq, on December 23, 2005, during the occupation phase of the conflict.
Sources: Army M119 Critical Role, DVIDS Camp Liberty M119 Image
Timeline
By December 2005, DVIDS placed an M119 with U.S. Army soldiers outside Camp Liberty in Iraq. That record documents the gun in U.S. Army field artillery use inside Iraq during the occupation phase of the 2003 Iraq War.
The Army's later modernization coverage framed these incidents within a broader service record, saying the lightweight howitzer had been used extensively in Operation Iraqi Freedom over the preceding 13 years and that field reports from Iraq helped expose recoil-system sustainment problems.
Sources: DVIDS Camp Liberty M119 Image, Army M119 Critical Role
Operational role
In Iraq, the M119's documented role was light 105 mm artillery fire support for U.S. Army formations. The Army described the howitzer as a direct and indirect fire-support asset for infantry brigade combat teams and said crews used it for multiple-round missions, high-angle fire, and high-charge firing in combat-support conditions.
The same Army account links Operation Iraqi Freedom experience to later M119A3 sustainment work. It says field reports from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom exposed shortfalls in the legacy recoil system, including seal leakage and variable-recoil-linkage problems, prompting redesign work intended to improve reliability and maintainability.
The public sources used here support U.S. Army fielding and fire-support use in Iraq, but they do not identify every Iraq-based M119 unit, every firing location, or a complete mission log for the system across the 2003-2011 conflict.
Sources: Army M119 Critical Role, DVIDS Camp Liberty M119 Image
