By Maj. Antonio Bernardo, Italian army
KTCC, CJFLCC-I, CJTF-OIR Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA – The Kurdish Training Coordination Center building partner capacity teams started the sixth iteration of the Peshmerga soldier training course in different locations near Erbil, Iraq, July 26.
The 18-day training exercise reinforces skill sets including basic rifle marksmanship, first aid, urban combat and counter-IED skills to prepare them to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and re-establish Iraqi sovereignty.
The KTCC has coordinated a three-week training program with the Ministry of Peshmerga. Two battalions of Peshmerga soldiers will take part in the training over the next 45 days.
The goal of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve training program is to develop both the individual soldier as well as collective units. Ultimately, the individual soldiers will reach a higher level of competence and operate more effectively as a combat unit.
Coalition troops from Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Finland have trained approximately 2,500 Peshmerga soldiers since January 2015 as part of the KTCC.
The KTCC is part of the Combined Joint Force Land Component Command - Iraq, which has trained more than 11,000 Iraqi security force personnel since January 2015.