The one area that took us the longest to get after was training. The Brigade was averse to conducting any kind of initial, supplemental, or sustainment training until about June, when we finally cracked the nut. The Brigade Commander now sees the value in scheduling and executing training to make his soldiers better. If we could only get him to resource it, it would be nirvana, or as close to nirvana as we are going to get.
We conducted a three week Commando course for five soldiers per Battalion and soldiers at the Brigade. The intent of the training was to create 'train the trainers' so the students would then go back and teach what they learned to their Battalions. The actual training was fairly simple-- regular "10 level tasks" that our initial entry Soldiers do every day, and the Junood picked it up well. Topics included map reading, urban operations, tactical movements, support by fire positions, marksmanship, and first aid. The event culminated in a graduation "capstone" exercise complete with live ammunition. The big victory was getting the IA to buy into the training idea, and then getting the IA to conduct the training. The real lessons were that the IA leadership learned a lot about how to conduct training. On Thursday, 30 July, we graduated 28 from our first class.
The big victories in this short video are controlled fire, controlled movement, and somebody in charge-- All rarities in regular IA operations. These guys worked together pretty well, and they worked hard over the course of three weeks to get this far. I wish I had a before video, but I don't.
Below is an article from the Stars and Stripes that says a lot about the Iraqi Security Forces and their abilities. The current Shabaniya pilgrimage to Karbala will be another "capstone" for the Brigade, and so far so good.
Security Pact gives Iraqi Security Forces a New Swagger - Heath Druzin, Stars and Stripes. Turki Atiah Thamer and Mohrfakh Ali Namdar rolled through Khadamiyah to inspect checkpoints in the well-worn Chevy pickup that is the trademark vehicle of the Iraqi National Police force, wagging an AK-47 out the window while waving traffic to pass. On the bustling streets of this Baghdad neighborhood, there’s no body armor, no hulking, blast-resistant trucks - and no American soldiers in sight. “Iraqis are taking over,” Thamer said. “The people appreciate that.” US troops have become a sort of nocturnal curiosity in Iraq’s cities, rarely seen except for the occasional camouflage mushroom of a helmet peeking out of a gunner’s hatch during a pre-dawn convoy. For a month now, since the June 30 pullback of American troops from urban areas to their bases, such convoys have been sharply restricted, operating only late at night and early in the morning - and then only with Iraqi approval. When they do roll, the Americans draw puzzled looks from local residents and the occasional unfriendly greeting from their Iraqi counterparts. In Khadamiyah, both a commercial and Shiite religious center, the differences from a few weeks ago are striking. Before June 30, Humvees and large armored trucks known as MRAPs ruled the roads and soldiers on foot patrol were a common sight. Under the new rules, US combat soldiers can patrol if their Iraqi counterparts request it - but it hasn’t happened.
Hope you are well. Take care-
Ron
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