Tuesday marks a milestone in the war in Iraq.

There are no American soldiers in the streets or helicopters in the skies of Iraqi cities as of Tuesday. It was the deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave cities in Iraq. Thousands of Iraqi troops and police are taking their place in Baghdad, manning checkpoints.

Iraq deemed it "National Sovereignty Day".

Commanders with Wisconsin's 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team reacted to the events from their stations in Iraq.

Lt. Col. Tim Donovan says, "our troops are not directly affected because the troops are not combat forces operating in cities. But we're affected in this way, because we now rely on Iraqi security forces to provide security for us. So believe me, we're rooting for their success and we think they're up to the challenge and we think this will work quite well."

Col. Steven Bensend added, "we feel fairly confident that the Iraqi forces have made the correct steps. They're doing a great job and security has not degraded at this time."

Lt. Colonel Donovan says soldiers from our area are serving all over Iraq, in support and security missions. About 3,500 troops from Wisconsin were deployed earlier this year.