Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer Schwind | U.S. Navy Lt. Eric Torres, member of the Marine Corps Reserve's 3rd Air Naval Gunfire...... read more read more
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by Army Sgt. Shannon Crane and Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer Schwind
U.S. Central Command Public Affairs
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq -- "Our mission is not about us ... it's about them."
According to Command Sgt. Maj. Bobby Moore, the Iraq Assistance Group (IAG) command sergeant major, the mission is not about the American Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen serving on transition teams throughout Iraq, it's totally about the Iraqi units they are embedded with.
It's about how to advise, coach, teach and mentor the Iraqi Security Forces, so that they can assume full responsibility for the security of their own country. When the Iraqi forces stand up, the American forces can stand down.
Transition teams -- the decisive effort in the exit strategy from
Iraq –- will make this happen.
The Concept
"At the end of December of 2004, it became clear to us that we were producing trained and equipped Iraqi units," said Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) commanding general, Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., "but that wasn't going to be enough to get them where they needed to be to conduct independent counter-insurgency operations."
"Our overall strategy in Iraq, as you've heard the President say many times, is that we're going to stand up the Iraqi Security Forces and as they do, we'll stand down. This transition team concept is an integral part of our entire strategy," he added.
Since the beginning of this concept, the formation and training of transition teams has evolved.
"We initially just took soldiers and leadership out of maneuver battalions and brigades that were across Iraq, with very little formal (transition team) training, and put them into the role as an adviser," said Moore.
Those teams sourced from units already in Iraq are considered "internal" teams. While there are still some internal transition teams, most teams are now externally sourced by the four military services -- primarily the Army and Marine Corps.
The IAG was established as a subordinate command of Multinational Corps-Iraq (MNC-I) to have administrative control and oversight of these "external" teams during their entire deployment into theater. It manages personnel, determine team assignments, identify equipment requirements, coordinate movements and oversee the training.
"What we realized over time is that we need to train advisers -- not observers/controllers -- on how to get out, how to deal with an Iraqi military, how to help the Iraqi military get better in their army, and to build the skill sets that they need," said Moore.
The Training
To prepare for their role as advisers, teams go through a total of five phases of training. Even before leaving home station, they complete the first phase which consists of mandatory read-ahead material.
Phase two, lasting 45 to 60 days, is focused on manning and equipping the teams, as well as training them on topics such as language, combat skills, force protection and team support processes. For Army, Navy and Air Force personnel, it is held at Fort Riley, Kan., and run by the 1st Infantry Division. The Marines train at Twentynine Palms and Camp Pendleton, Calif.
After stateside training is complete, teams travel to Camp Buehring, Kuwait, for five days of in-theater orientation.
The Phoenix Academy is the fourth phase, lasting eight to 10 days. As the last formal training for the teams, the Phoenix Academy builds on the generalized Iraq information, maneuver training and basic combat skills of the first three phases, and focuses on specific advanced instruction.
Finally, the transition teams enter their most critical phase, referred to as "RIP/TOA," which is short for "relief in place, transfer of authority." During these 10 days, the new teams do a "left seat/right seat" overlap with the 11-15 man teams they will replace, as well as meet their Iraqi counterparts.
There are currently more than 300 embedded transition teams integrated with the Iraqi security forces, serving as advisers and bringing a mix of combat and support specialties to include operations, intelligence, logistics, communications, engineering and security.
The Military Transition Teams
A nation's army, capable of independent action, is vital to its protection from outside aggressors. After the transfer of sovereignty approximately three years ago, Iraq's new army needed to be assembled and trained.
Since then, it has been rebuilt from the ground up as a modern, effective, western-style fighting force consisting of ten divisions with approximately 131,000 soldiers.
This transformation has been a direct result of the guidance from the Military Transition Teams (MiTTs).
"In a nutshell, our main mission is to advise and to train the Iraqi Army," said U.S. Army Maj. Marc Walker, team chief for 4th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, "so that they can go forth and complete their missions without the help of coalition forces, and once they do that, that is when we can bring the rest of our Army home."
Serving in this adviser/mentor role, it is necessary to walk the fine line between showing the Iraqi soldiers how to complete a task versus doing the task for them.
"Our mantra is that we advise them but we never do it for them," said U.S. Army Maj. Steven Caroll, team chief for 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division.
"The definition of failure for us is when we take the plan or the execution away from the Iraqis because we don't like the way they're doing it and execute for them," he said.
The National Police Transition Teams
While a nation's army focuses on external threats, it is also important to maintain security within its borders.
In 2003, Iraq had a dilapidated internal security force. Today, the Ministry of Interior has generated more than 180,000 trained and equipped police. Of those, more than 24,000 are assigned to the National Police force.
Helping them become a credible police force is the role of the National Police Transition Teams (NPTTs).
"If you view the National Police kind of as a stop gap between the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police, that's kind of where they fall," said U.S. Army Col. Damon Penn, 2nd National Police Division transition team chief.
"It is a paramilitary organization that was originally designed as an idea of the Iraqi government," he said, "to bridge that gap and to provide some type of capability for the Ministry of Interior to project security throughout the provinces in Iraq."
The Border Transition Teams
Keeping security within a nation's borders is only part of the struggle. Defending the borders themselves is another essential piece to the puzzle.
Three years ago, Iraq was unable to independently provide security for its own borders. Today, more than 27,000 border enforcement personnel have completed training and 256 border forts have been built.
Standing the line with their Iraqi counterparts are the members of the Border Transition Teams (BTTs).
"A BTT is like any other transition team in Iraq," said U.S. Army Capt. Nicholas Rivera, adviser for the Border Transition Team in Rabea. "We're here to train the Iraqis that we work with, specifically on the border."
What distinguishes Rivera's team from most BTTs is they work at a point of entry near the small village of Rabea, located on the Iraqi/Syrian border, thrusting them into the world of customs measures and procedures.
"We're actually considered a Point of Entry Team," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Mark Whited, an adviser for the Border Transition Team. "We work with the whole Port of Entry over there, which is the customs inspectors, the customs police, and the Customs Security Battalion."
The Challenges
The transition teams' success relies heavily on their ability to understand and appreciate the Iraqi culture, which isn't always as easy as it sounds.
U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Rock Shiffer, senior enlisted advisor for the Iraqi National Police Headquarters, said when dealing with their Iraqi counterparts, it's important to take the time to get acquainted before discussing any kind of business.
"You've got to do that piece," said Shiffer. "You've got to be able to get to know them, because their culture is, 'Come on in. Have a seat. Let's sit and talk. Let's have some tea.' "And if you try and rush through that, you're going to offend them, so we don't want to do that."
Varied expectations of the Iraqis' abilities tend to create challenges for the teams, as well.
"One of the things that we have to keep reminding ourselves is that these are not Americans and their standards are different," said U.S. Army Capt. John Govan, adviser for 4th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division.
"We have to constantly step back and apply a new metric to how we measure them, and it's much different than anything that we've done before," he added.
Some of the non-cultural issues experienced by the transition teams are strictly logistical in nature.
"They don't have a national industrial base," said U.S. Marine Col. Juan Ayala, senior transition team advisor for the 1st Iraqi Army Division, "so they don't have anything to draw from -- so their logistics are outsourced. That has been a difficulty."
The Progress
In spite of the many challenges, progress -- no matter how gradual -- is being made. It is a process which can be likened to a marathon, not a sprint.
"I think we're moving forward," Penn said. "We'll never go as quickly as everybody would want us to. We would all like to come and think that overnight, we'll make a big difference and that Iraq will change. But it takes some time."
"Our transition teams are making differences all throughout Iraq," said Army Brig. Gen. Dana J. H. Pittard, IAG commanding general. "I've been to every province in Iraq now, each of the 10 Iraqi Army Divisions, all the border regions and each of the National Police Units.
"If you look up at the Syrian border, we've got BTTs that are making a world of difference in partnership with U.S. Customs officials in helping to train Iraqi Border Patrol units, as well as Iraqi port of entry soldiers.
"The National Police, which was just created in March of 2005, is slowly becoming a more professional force. And that is in large part due to the work of the NPTTs."
"As for the Iraqi Army, and I'll just tell you from a personal experience, when I left Iraq in 2005, there were only two Iraqi Army battalions that we had, and they were struggling. Now we have 10 IA divisions, and now you don't have to push people to fight. The IA will fight because they're fighting for Iraq."
Making a Difference
The positive experiences gained by members of the transition teams have punctuated the relevance of the mission, and they continue to stay the course.
"This assignment is very rewarding, and it is very frustrating at the same time," said Walker, "but I believe the rewards outweigh the frustrations that you will have."
"We are making an impact over here for these guys," Rivera said. "If I had to come back over here for a second job, this is what I'd prefer to be doing."
"I came here wanting to make a difference," said Shiffer. "And for me, this is a great place to be able to come to make a difference. And I'm seeing a difference being made every day."
| Date Taken: | 11.08.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 11.08.2006 09:28 |
| Story ID: | 8226 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 1,865 |
| Downloads: | 1,204 |
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