U.S. tries to teach Iraq the will to fight
The Washington Post
CAMP TAJI, Iraq Years after the U.S. military tried to create a new army in Iraq at a cost of over $25billion American trainers have returned to help rebuild the countrys fighting force.
But this time, things are different.
With the Iraqis dependent on their own logistics, there is a shortage of weapons and ammunition available for training. For the time being, soldiers at Camp Taji are restricted to shouting bang bang to simulate firing during exercises. And, mindful of how Iraqi troops fled their positions last June during a major offensive by Islamic State extremists, U.S. trainers have added some new elements to boot camp.
We are giving classes on the will to fight, said Sgt. Maj. Michael Grinston, who instructed Iraqi troops in 2006 and 2007 and is now overseeing the U.S. training program. There is also more focus on training senior officers.
The new U.S. program, which began late last month, aims to give 5,000 Iraqi soldiers basic weapons and tactics training within six to eight weeks. The U.S. military hopes to eventually build a force capable of mounting counteroffensives against the Islamic State, which has taken control of large swaths of northern and western Iraq.
But a day at Camp Taji, where a small group of reporters was allowed access to the program this week for the first time, highlighted the challenges.
On a training ground, five Iraqi army recruits awkwardly gripping AK-47s approached a wooden building, kicking down a piece of a door that had been propped up in its entrance. Two U.S. trainers coached them on where to direct their weapons, while a few yards away, an American soldier banged a hammer against a metal pole to simulate the sound of enemy fire.
Theres a bare minimum of equipment, said Capt. John Cumbie, one of the U.S. trainers. He said thats not necessarily because it doesnt exist but because of the hurdles in getting weapons and gear to the right place, due to the complexity of the Iraqi bureaucracy and an underdeveloped logistics system. Its figuring out where all the stuff is. It exists somewhere in the system; it just has to get to us.
The battalion he is training was meant to be using Soviet-made Dushka machine guns in their exercise on Wednesday morning, but none were to be found. While driving between bases, Grinston received a call from an Iraqi commander who said he could deliver 20,000 training rounds for M-16 rifles. It makes a big difference to morale if you can feel that weapon going, said Lt. Col. Sean Ryan, an Army public-affairs officer. But do the soldiers have the M-16s? They still need more, he said.
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U.S. tries to teach Iraq the will to fight