Raider Brigade leaders attend COIN Academy

Photo By Maj. David Olson | Col. Ted Martin, commander, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, meets Dr. Moayad Hamad, a cardiologist from the Doura neighborhood in southern Baghdad, who spoke as a guest speaker at the Counter Insurgency Academy at Camp Taji, Iraq, March 16.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

03.21.2008

Story by Maj. David Olson 

1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

By Maj. Dave Olson
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Commanders and select staff officers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, attended the Counter Insurgency Academy at Camp Taji to study the current situation in Iraq, March 14-18.

The Raider Brigade commanders and officers studied the challenging issues affecting the situation in Iraq, and the techniques to overcome the resistance in the ongoing fight for Iraqi freedom.

This is not the first time the Raider Brigade officers attended the COIN Academy.

"I was a student in the first COIN Academy class in December 2005," explained Lt. Col.

Bryan Mullins, operations officer, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div. Mullins is a United States Military Academy Class of 1991 graduate who claims Bristol, Va., as home. He was the operations officer for 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div., at the time preparing for the Operation Iraqi Freedom 05-07 deployment.

The Raiders conducted multiple advanced cultural training and Iraqi government classes prior to attending the COIN Academy.

"This is a pile on of what we already studied," said Col. Ted Martin, commander, 1st BCT, who hails from Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

The Raider Brigade underwent the Leader Training Program at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., in August 2007, conducted a COIN seminar with retired Gen. John "Jay" Hendrix in November 2007, and an advanced cultural and Iraqi government seminar at the University of Texas at Austin in February, said Martin.

Gen. George Casey, then the Multi-National Forces – Iraq commander, now the Army Chief of Staff, started the COIN Academy in August 2005, with the first class in December 2005, said Col. Joe Smith, the COIN Center For Excellence commandant. Casey used the institution to train every U.S. Army BCT and USMC Regimental Combat Team coming into Iraq since 2006 on the fundamentals of COIN.

One of the guest speakers at the COIN Academy during the session was a local citizen from Doura, a neighborhood in southern Baghdad, who offered advice to the Raider Brigade officers.

"This part of Baghdad (Rashid) is very important; it's the gateway to Baghdad," explained Dr. Moayad Hamad, a cardiologist, contractor, businessman and entrepreneur. Everything coming into Baghdad from the south comes through this area. "Your mission is difficult."

The challenging mission is security, he said. The citizens of Baghdad want security so they can live their normal lives and prosper.

The U.S. Soldiers are brave, continued Hamad. The U.S. Soldiers took care of the citizens of Baghdad in 2007, and they will again in 2008. The year of 2008 is pivotal to the success of Iraq.

"We are ready to assume the mission," Martin said. "We have the best equipment available. We have outstanding leaders and Soldiers, who are well-trained and prepared to do this mission."

• Date Taken: 03.21.2008
• Date Posted: 03.21.2008 16:40
• Story ID: 17642
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ