The following are events related to the Global War On Terrorism (GWOT) that took place on this day.

2003

• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld signed two major deployment orders to send 62,000 more U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf area. The buildup in the area reached almost 150,000 following the addition of the troops. The U.S. Naval ships, Bataan, Ashland, Portland, Kearsarge, Saipan, Gunston Hall, and the Ponce, used to transport Marines from the II MEF to the theater left their homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, within days of the order. Marines also unloaded equipment from Marine Prepositioning Force ships in a Kuwait port 17 January 2003 in support of the arriving forces.

2004

• Start of Operation Iron Resolve in Iraq

2005

• Operation Copperas Cove in Iraq

Casualties on January 12:

• CROCKETT, RICKY LEON – January 12, 2004
• LLOYD, KEITH EVERETTE – January 12, 2008
• ACEVES, OMAR – January 12, 2011
• CREAMER, ZAINAH CAYE – January 12, 2011
• KING, JARRID LEE – January 12, 2011
• MOOLDYK, EVAN JAN – January 12, 2011
• MOORE, BENJAMIN GERALD – January 12, 2011
• SALMON, ZACHARY STEVEN RICHARD – January 12, 2011
• RODRIGUEZ, JOHN PHILLIPS – January 12, 2017