Photo By Staff Sgt. Shawn Miller | Iraqi soldiers with 1st Battalion, 11th Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division, move under a...... read more read more
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GHUZLANI WARRIOR TRAINING CENTER, Iraq – Iraqi soldiers of 1st Battalion, 11th Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division, conducted urban operations training in cooperation with U.S. trainers from 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, at Ghuzlani Warrior Training Center near Mosul, Jan. 24.
The urban training is just one phase of a month-long cycle at GWTC as part of Tadreeb al Shamil, Arabic for All-Inclusive Training, an Iraqi directive to ready IA units to conduct national defense military operations, said Staff Sgt. David Kelley, a trainer from Troop A, 1st Sqdn., 9th Cav. Regt.
“The whole intent is to make sure the Iraqi Army is well-trained and properly trained by the time we withdraw from Iraq,” said Kelley.
Rather than focusing on individual soldier skills, Iraqi soldiers participating in Tadreeb al Shamil at GWTC learned to conduct operations at GWTC as cohesive units, starting with squad-level elements and progressing to company and battalion-level exercises by the completion of the four-week rotation.
Serving as trainers, each U.S. soldier mentored an assigned Iraqi squad or platoon, providing feedback gained from their own combat experiences.
“It’s a very good relationship between us and the U.S. forces, and it’s going to get better and better,” said Sgt. Hashem Fadel, 2nd Company, 1st Bn., 11th Bde. “They worked very hard with us, and I appreciate the work they did with us.”
During the training, Iraqi soldiers moved in tactical elements across an open field, setting up security perimeters as they prepared to close in on several buildings suspected of housing extremists – in this case role-played by fellow Iraqi soldiers acting as opposition forces.
“They’ve adopted our formations and techniques quite well,” said Kelley, noting that even larger movement phases involving entire companies are making good progress.
After movement into the mock town, the Iraqi soldiers practiced the proper techniques for entering and clearing rooms as well as interrogating detainees.
After several practice runs, the Iraqi units came together to form a plan and assault the objective, while their U.S. counterparts supervised.
The sharp crack of blank ammunition echoed through the buildings as Iraqi soldiers battled the “extremists” hiding within the rooms.
During the training scenario, Iraqi assault forces captured notional prisoners and rendered medical care to their “wounded” with first aid skills learned in previous lessons.
Following the exercise, the Iraqi units regrouped to review the event from start to finish, making adjustments to the process as U.S. Soldiers critiqued the execution of the mission.
The Iraqi soldiers now need to take this guidance back to their units to continue the process of daily military training to maintain their proficiency and improve upon their newly acquired skills, said Kelly.
The Iraqi soldiers of 1st Bn., 11th Bde., are the initial class going through GWTC, which began hosting the battalion training Jan. 3, as part of Tadreeb Al Shamil.
Fadel, a seven-year veteran of the Iraqi Army, said that he and his fellow soldiers are ready to stand up and protect their country from harm.
“This was very good training,” he said. “We are 100 percent confident that once the U.S. pulls out, we can protect our own country.”
| Date Taken: | 01.24.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.01.2011 07:26 |
| Story ID: | 64587 |
| Location: | GHUZLANI WARRIOR TRAINING CENTER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 93 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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