Courtesy Photo | Command Sgt. Maj. Victor Martinez (right), and an Iraqi cadre member speak to the...... read more read more
Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp
MNC - I PAO
August 10, 2005
FORWARD OPERATING BASE Q-WEST, Iraq -- In the U.S. Army, noncommissioned officers are known as the "backbone of the Army," and a group of these Soldiers has set up an academy to help the Iraqi army produce its own rigid corps of NCOs.
The Iraqi NCO Academy here is a new training ground for Iraqi troops, and is the brainchild of U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Victor Martinez, sergeant major, 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Upon arriving in country last fall, Martinez noticed the Iraqi NCO corps didn't have a training academy. The first thing on his to do list was to change that.
Using a handful of specially selected NCOs from his subordinate units, Martinez and his cadre found a training area, barracks and time to devote to a much needed group of up and coming Iraqi leaders, he said.
"We started the academy in November with the intent to strengthen the Iraqi NCO corps," he said.
The academy is conducted on a revolving schedule with a basic training program the regiment runs. The three-week course is designed to improve leadership skills, marksmanship and army values within the Iraqi NCO corps. Each course has roughly 45 soldiers, and the "day starts early for these guys," Martinez said.
Wake-up is 5:30 a.m., with 30 minutes for daily preparation and prayer. Physical fitness training ensues at 6 a.m., followed by a day filled with road marches, obstacle courses, drill and ceremony practice, marksmanship training and classroom instruction.
At 9 p.m., it's time to call it a day for the Iraqi NCOs.
"By the time it's lights out, these guys are ready to go to bed," said Martinez, who places army values and leadership skills above all others in the training regimen.
"The bottom line is -- if the leaders don't know how to do the tasks, if the leaders aren't trained and they're not confident, then their soldiers aren't going to be able to do the job asked of them," he said.
With the focus on leadership training, the first group of soldiers attending the academy included the top echelon of the senior NCO ranks.
"I told all three Iraqi battalion commanders that my intent was to start off with the senior ranking soldiers first," Martinez said. "In the first class, we had three sergeants major, eight first sergeants, and a lot of sergeants first-class. We wanted to get the senior guys first so they go through the same training that a lower-ranking sergeant goes through."
Doing this caused a solid relationship between Martinez and the senior Iraqi enlisted personnel, he said.
"I see one of the sergeant majors on the FOB all the time, and he went through the very first class," he said. "He knows what's going on over here, so when I tell him to send me his sergeants and his platoon sergeants, he has no problem doing it."
After the NCOs are chosen to attend the class, the cadre wastes no time getting the ball rolling. An in-processing brief kicks off the training where Martinez --
the academy's commandant -- welcomes the newest group of soldiers to the academy.
"I make sure to let them know this isn't going to be easy, but if they stick with it they will be very proud," Martinez said.
The soldiers that do stick with the program will graduate in a ceremony held in their honor at the camp's Morale, Welfare and Recreation movie theater. The newly trained NCOs are presented with graduation certificates in front of their peers, along with a congratulatory speech by Martinez.
One graduation ceremony in particular had a lasting effect on the 22-year veteran from Los Angeles.
"The night before graduation, one of the Iraqi soldiers insisted that he talk to me," Martinez said. "He came up to me, and he said, "Sergeant major, I speak on behalf of all the sergeants here in this class when I tell you we are very grateful to you for the training you have given us, and may Allah bless you and protect you and your family." I was touched that he felt that way, and you could see it in his face how happy he was."
The newly trained NCOs go back to their respective units upon graduating from the academy, with one exception. Select Iraqi NCOs have the opportunity to become part of the cadre.
The academy currently has eight Army personnel conducting training alongside a group of Iraqi sergeants. The Iraqi soldiers chosen to be part of the cadre were honor graduates from previous classes at the academy, said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Diego Alvarez, an academy instructor from the 98th Division, Rochester, N.Y.
"We've mentored three of the Iraqi cadre who are graduates of the NCO academy," Alvarez said. "We want them to take a proactive role so we can step back, and with more Iraqi cadre they can eventually run the academy themselves."
As a former drill sergeant who is used to training and taking care of Soldiers, Alvarez knows the importance of the academy.
"It's important for the Iraqi army to have a strong NCO corps," Alvarez said. "The NCOs are the caretakers of soldiers and set the standards."
Although the 8th FA will begin redeployment in September, the NCO academy will continue to operate under the regiment's successors, Martinez said.
"We can spend all the time in the world trying to catch terrorists," Martinez said. "But we need to train the Iraqi Army, trust them, and help equip them. We have to build these guys up and give them the confidence to take over the missions. That's what we are doing with the NCO academy."
| Date Taken: | 08.16.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 08.16.2005 18:12 |
| Story ID: | 2751 |
| Location: | QAYYARAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 1,259 |
| Downloads: | 538 |
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