Photo By Kimberly Hackbarth | A soldier with 22nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division fires rounds at paper targets...... read more read more
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JOINT SECURITY STATION JUSTICE, Iraq – Iraqi army soldiers stood silently in a line, their weapons at the ready. Finally, the voice of the 22nd Brigade, 6th IA Division brigade sergeant major resonated loudly through a bullhorn and the soldiers unleashed a barrage of live rounds into paper targets mounted on wooden frames nearly 25 meters in front of them.
In the distance, members of the 22nd Bde., 6th IA Div. Military Transition Team, who had previously led marksmanship training with the Iraqi soldiers, attended the range this time merely as spectators. Instead, the officers and non-commissioned officers of the IA brigade mentored their own soldiers, going over firing techniques and safety on the range, especially when using live ammunition April 19.
For many of the soldiers, this was their first time using actual ammunition instead of dummy rounds or not having any at all, so even the 16 rounds they each were allotted was enough to motivate them.
Pvt. Muhammad E'mad Kathim said this was his first time firing and that he had never even fired an AK-47 assault rifle in his life.
"It teaches me confidence in myself that I can fight," said Muhammad.
The confidence a soldier has in his ability to fight is important in case he ever has to engage enemies out on the streets of Iraq, emphasized Capt. Ali, the 22nd Bde., 6th IA Div. Non-commisioned Officer Academy officer in charge.
Ali said there's a good chance that scenario could happen.
"These guys run checkpoints and face the enemy every day," said Ali. "They must be confident in themselves."
The Soldiers of the brigade usually train with their weapons once or twice a year, Ali added. Each time they gain better marksmanship skills.
"The main thing is for them to understand how to prepare [for an attack] and how they handle their weapons in battle," said Ali.
Because training is so rare, the brigade sergeant major, Sgt. Maj. Hakeem, noted weak points during the day's training and said he would add them to a list of things to improve at the NCO academy, where the soldiers who trained at the range would be headed if they chose to continue a career in the military.
Hakeem said a lot of the soldiers are young and have never experienced any military training. Therefore, he doesn't expect them to know everything he, a 32-year veteran of the IA, does about marksmanship.
The day spent at the range was the beginning to a much more expansive training mission that the MiTT Soldiers have planned. The range proved to the MiTT Soldiers, including the team leader, Lt. Col. John Watters, that the training they had given the Iraqis had positive effects since they were capable of running their own operations one step at a time.
"The first step [is that] they're doing it," said Watters, a Jarrettsville, Md., native. "They're out here, it's safe, [and] you can tell the instructors are helping."
Now that they know the IA can take what is taught to them and run with it in true "train the trainer" fashion, the MiTT has scheduled more marksmanship training for the IA soldiers that can be used to protect themselves and the people of Iraq as the transition teams and other U.S. troops proceed with the responsible reduction of forces from the country.
| Date Taken: | 04.24.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.24.2010 12:07 |
| Story ID: | 48644 |
| Location: | JOINT SECURITY STATION JUSTICE, IQ |
| Web Views: | 336 |
| Downloads: | 314 |
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