The US army took over the civil administration of post-war Iraq from the Marines today, inheriting a daunting task plagued by confusion and public animosity towards the US occupation.
By first light, the heavy Marine presence had completely vanished from Baghdad's streets and was replaced by small numbers of soldiers from the army's Third Infantry Division deployed at street corners.
Elements of the Fourth Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne had also moved into the capital.
"We took over about 11 a.m. (Irish time) from the Marines and right now we're trying to get a handle on what they've already figured out," Staff Sergeant Nicholas King said.
Along the cordon outside the Palestine and Sheraton hotels where the Marines were based, the Third Infantry had positioned one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and one Abrams tank on each corner as about 100 Iraqi civilians protested the US occupation.
At the main entrance, one Iraqi man berated the troops, yelling: "Get out and leave Iraqi oil alone." His theatrics were relentless as the guard stood stony-faced, feigning indifference.
The army's top priority will be the reconstruction of essential services across the country with the initial emphasis on electricity, water, sewage, hospitals and law and order. It has its work cut out.
Ten days after the fall of Saddam Hussein, promised US efforts to rebuild the country shattered by three wars and a dozen years of UN sanctions have got off to a halting start.
Most shops remain closed in the capital of five million people, electricity has been out for more than two weeks and police patrols have started back slowly after a wave of looting and vandalism.
But thousands of Iraqis did report back for work causing huge traffic jams, lending an air of Baghdad's pre-war bustle, and in the southern city of Basra teachers and pupils ripped down portraits of Saddam Hussein as schools reopened for the first time since the start of the war.
AFP