Still, other challenges lay in getting the Iraqi soldiers and officers to have confidence in their abilities, their organization, and in each other. Its my job to empower them, James said. If I accomplish my job, when I leave here, theyll be able to conduct internal operations in their own battle space without having brigade to tell them to do their own operations. Though it seems difficult, at times, to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, members of the MiTTs are definitely seeing a progression toward independence in their Iraqi counterparts. Most of us, this is our second year over here, and, so what we have seen are huge steps since 2003 in the reforming of an Iraqi army and a basic Iraqi security force, said Govan. But the daily, mundane things that we do, its tough to see unless you step back and look at where they started from, he said. We believe that they have grown. Our unit, as a logistics battalion, is the equivalent of a forward support battalion inside of a brigade combat team. They dont do a great job with logistics, simply because so much of logistics is farmed out to contract food, water, and maintenance. But what we have seen them do is grow as a maneuverable force. Theyre responsible for their own force protection and their own re-supply, and we have really nothing to do with that except for overseeing it. So in the beginning, we helped create it, and now, keeping true to the MiTT model, weve worked ourselves basically out of a job. An Iraqi civilian interpreter who works with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, who also asked his name not be used, said he has seen a positive difference in his countrys army in the short time hes worked with the transition teams, and made comparisons to how the Iraqi army used to be. I dont think we had an army, he said, because you see, everyone wanted to make something for himself. Some money or some respect. Everyone made something for himself. Thats why I dont care about the army before 2003. After 2003, I feel that we got a new army. I feel that the Iraqi army is a great army that Ive never seen before. But at the same time, I see the Iraqi officers and the soldiers dont have the experience. They dont know what the other armies in the world are doing, how they fight, or how they work. He added that as a result of the guidance the Iraqi soldiers have received from the transition teams, the Iraqi army is changing for the better. Actually, Im honest...I see progress, he said. I see progress. Despite the differences that the Iraqi army has to the way we're doing business, they're actually accomplishing the mission, Carroll said, at least our unit in their sector, to a standard. Its rarely the American Army's standard, but they're accomplishing the mission. In spite of the various obstacles and seemingly slow progress involved with building and training a military force, the members of the transition teams see the relevance of the mission and continue to stay the course. Were told that the MiTTs are basically the exit strategy from this theater and we all want the same thing, and thats to go home, Govan said. But I think its, overall, a good thing. Ive seen that they do grow. Some team members find job satisfaction in seeing how far the Iraqis have come in their training. 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 over here. And when you look back over the course of the year, youll look at where they started and where youve ended up, and Im very pleased with where were at right now. Others find fulfillment in the experiences theyve gained. This is a great opportunity to get out and to get in the fight...and see a different part of the Army, said James. To really grow and experience new things, he said. To learn a lot about how to conduct yourself and run operations in a volatile environment. You can do nothing but grow professionally and personally, I think, by joining a MiTT and getting out here and living with the Iraqis. And still others find success in the day-to-day gains...making headway in the marathon of military transition. There are days, or late nights, when I walk back from the battalion commander's office, where I think we'll never get through to them, said Carroll. But the very next day, a triumph, he said, and we've broken through and things have gotten better overnight. I would absolutely recommend it to anybody that wanted to do it. Its a challenging job, but it's definitely the future. |