Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Heidi West | An Iraqi Special Operations Forces instructor jots down answers for the...... read more read more
By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Heidi Davis
Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula
BAGHDAD, Iraq – In an effort to maintain a strategic position ahead of the ever-evolving battlefield, Iraqi Special Operations Forces instructors turned to the Iraqi Special Warfare Center and School for assistance in updating their combative training program of instruction.
Coalition forces advisers and ISWCS graduated 34 ISOF instructors on Dec. 25 from the first 10-day instructor refresher course, but not before arming them with advanced rifle marksmanship skills, hand-to-hand combat techniques, close-quarter-battle maneuvers and military fundamentals knowledge.
"I want to thank the Americans who have come, shed blood and shared their lives to give us freedom to fight," said the ISWCS commander during the graduation ceremony.
Beginning each day on the firing range, ISWCS and CF advisers reviewed basic rifle marksmanship with the M-4 rifles and M-9 pistol with the instructors. Progressing in a building block pattern, instructors moved from weapons familiarization, which included changing magazines and overcoming malfunctions, to maneuvering around barriers to engage a target.
"Our students come from the streets with no previous knowledge or experience with weapons," said an ISOF instructor. "Now, we can train them to become Soldiers who protect this community."
An armed Soldier poses an obvious threat to the enemy; however, when a weapon malfunctions or the ammo runs dry, the Soldier needs to know how to defend himself and still control the enemy," said a CF adviser who complimented the progress made during weapons training with hand-to-hand combat.
"Hand-to-hand combat is about leverage and violence of action," he said. "A Soldier has to go into a room full force – dominate it. His goal is to put the enemy into a holding position until his battle buddies can relieve him."
For two days, the instructors learned basic defensive and offensive maneuvers, which, when correctly executed, allocate an extreme tactical fighting capability. Following the block of instruction, the CF adviser stressed the importance of knowing when to go full force and how to train so that each student can execute maneuvers in a safe manner.
"If you are on a mission and get the enemy to the ground – don't let up," he said. "On the other hand, when you are teaching combatives, stop every five minutes to review the rules and preach safety."
Armed with newly-learned weapons-handling skills ISWCS and CF advisers escorted instructors to the training shoot house to practice. After completing this portion of training, the instructors begin to realize the importance of incorporating their newly-learned skills into future commando courses.
"When we have to clear a home, they are always different in the design and layout," an instructor said. "[During training], we had to learn to react under any circumstance and situation. We also had to learn to work as a team and depend on each other as our battle buddy."
On the last day of class, instructors completed a final written exam. Following graduation, each instructor selected a portion of instruction from the course, and taught it to the ISWCS commander and head ISWCS instructor.
Depending on how effectively the instructor taught, the commander and head instructor assigned him as a primary or assistant instructor for future commando courses, said a CF advisor.
On graduation day, the students presented the ISWCS commander with a new, streamlined commando course curriculum that encompassed each block of instruction they had just completed.
"In the beginning, the class started with the basics and moved to advanced training," a CF adviser said. "Now, they are armed with the knowledge and tools to teach and develop a professional, combat-fighting Soldier."
| Date Taken: | 01.04.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 01.04.2009 20:33 |
| Story ID: | 28433 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 322 |
| Downloads: | 233 |
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