Photo By Sgt. David Turner | Sgt. Jenna Fitzpatrick and Spc. David Shelly, Company C, 703rd Brigade Support...... read more read more
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By Sgt. David Turner
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – The Iraqi security forces constantly gain confidence and competence in providing security for the people of Iraq. Recruiting efforts like the recent ones in Iskandariyah attract potential Soldiers and policeman at an increasing pace.
The continuous, successful growth of the force presents the ISF with logistical support challenges.
Captain Kenneth Hoisington, ISF logistics coordinator for 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and his team provide direct support to the ISF as well as help them use the systems they have in place and identify ways to improve.
"We need to back away and be more advisers," said Hoisington. "If you don't let their system fail, they won't know anything's wrong. Now we're exercising their system."
In his initial visits, Hoisington tried to identify the ISF's logistics needs. He also sought input as to how he could best help them.
"Just like you would in any business, you ask the people you're supporting, 'Hey, what works for you?'" he said.
Visits to kitchens, warehouses and maintenance shops give Hoisington and his team an assessment of the ISF's capabilities. The Iraqi army leaders organized logistics conferences as a forum to communicate their problems to each other. A recent conference at Forward Operating Base Echo was organized and led by Iraqi soldiers of the 8th IA Division themselves; something that Hoisington feels is a step in the right direction.
The most crucial element of the program, though, is training. Using Soldiers of the 703rd BSB as instructors and subject-matter experts, Hoisington implemented a program to teach a variety of logistics skills to IA soldiers, who in turn instruct their home units.
"There were already some medical classes that were provided, but basically we had to come up with our own classes," Hoisington said.
Nearly every week, 703rd BSB Soldiers give classes to ISF personnel at FOB Kalsu. They instruct small groups of soldiers and policemen in supply management, vehicle maintenance, safety and field medicine. A recent medical class trained Iraqi army medics and pharmacists, a group that also included doctors and one veterinarian. The emphasis of the course was in learning basic skills that can be taught to others in their IA units.
"What we teach them here is not just for them; it's also for them to take back to their units and be able to take what they've learned here and help [others] in their services to be as proficient as they are," said Sgt. 1st Class Albert Austin, Company C., 703rd BSB.
Austin said while their training may differ from what the IA offers, Co. C trainers try to tailor the training to the specific needs of the IA, often learning about their procedures in doing so.
"It shows them the differences between what they do and what we do. We try to incorporate what we learn here so that when the next classes come, we can show them ... a better way to do it," said Austin. "The most important thing they'll have is the knowledge. We want to try to show them that in order to make your organization better, you have to share that knowledge."
Hoisington said when he came to work with the ISF last year, not much attention was being paid to their logistics problems.
"I don't think anybody really looked at the logistics side," he said. "They figured, while the enemy was still very strong, before [the surge], we had to make sure security came first. Now that things have calmed down, we can start focusing on the logistics capabilities for the Iraqi army and Iraqi police. That's the next stage we're looking at."
Problems with supplying and maintaining the force constantly challenge the Iraqi army and police. Their systems are not automated; everything is done on paper. Supplies are usually bought with cash. Sometimes it's difficult to even spend the money at all.
An issue for both the army and police is maintaining fleets of vehicles, which include everything from Polish-made troop transports to Toyota trucks. Getting the parts to repair them is hard enough; getting the tools and expertise to do the repairs is just as hard. On a recent visit to an IA brigade's maintenance shop, Hoisington found the mechanics had only a half-box of tools for the entire shop.
Still, he sees hope in Iraqi soldiers who have worked to overcome shortages in materials and problems in logistics.
"Adaptability is really critical for them. They make things happen based on what they have, and they are doing phenomenal things," he said.
In one case he saw, Soldiers made use of poorly constructed bed frames by welding spare metal from mesh barriers onto them so they could be used.
What Hoisington most hopes to see come out the program, though, is a willingness to change and the ability to communicate with each other to achieve those changes, he said.
"It's the ability to talk to higher [command] and know that what's being said is going to happen. If somehow they're seeing positive reinforcement on their logistics systems – that's what I want to see change. I want to see the small steps toward that vision that all these individuals have," he said.
Hoisington said as the program makes progress, members of the ISF can see the possibility of a better future for their logistics capabilities.
"I think there's definitely a new image. They see change, they want change; they know they have to have change to be successful. Everybody I've talked to, between the doctors, the leadership and the maintenance personnel, they all have a vision. They see where they want to be and they know where they are. I think they know what they need to get there," he said.
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.01.2008 10:38 |
| Story ID: | 22034 |
| Location: | ISKANDARIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 324 |
| Downloads: | 309 |
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