Posted on 12/05/2009 1:34:53 PM PST by SandRat
Iraqi Soldiers with the 49th Iraqi Army Brigade, 12th IA Division, attend a literacy class at the 49th IA Bde.'s compound in Kirkuk province, Dec. 3. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Douglas, 1st Cavalry Division.
KIRKUK — In an effort to ensure the success of its Soldiers in military educational courses, one Iraqi Army division here has instituted classes to instruct Soldiers on Arabic reading and writing.
Working closely with the 49th Iraqi Army Brigade, 12th IA Division, are U.S. Soldiers with a Military Transition Team, who observe and provide logistical support for the classes.
Maj. Tim Rustad, a Mankato, Minn., native and officer in charge of the MITT, said the literacy program began after the 46th IA Bde. attempted to send its Soldiers to military courses at the K1 Iraqi military base here.
"When sending Soldiers to K1, they would fail training because of literacy problems," he said.
Rustad said the new commander of the 46th IA Bde. recognized this problem and rather then remove these Soldiers from service, he adopted a literacy program.
Sgt. 1st Class Kenya Strong, a Miami native and non-commissioned officer in charge of the MITT, said their role is to provide training for the Iraqi instructors.
"We are advisors; we conduct a train-the- trainer course for the instructors so in turn they can train other Iraqi Soldiers on how to conduct classes." Strong said.
The course, which runs approximately six months, is taught at the brigade compound by two Iraqi officers. The 46th IA Bde. has two instructors, both college educated and trained at teaching the curriculum, which encompasses mathematics, reading, science and Islam, Strong explained.
Second Lt. Abeer and Warrant Officer Sdim give classes to roughly 20 IA Soldiers per class and teach based on a curriculum set by the 12th IA Div.
"Because I graduated from college, and I'm the lieutenant, I was selected to teach the classes," Abeer said. "We start off with the alphabet and they [IA Soldiers] learn quickly, many of them are able to read newspapers and magazines within the first 45 days."
"He's a good instructor," Strong said. "He goes the extra mile and will instruct one-on-one with students, he's very patient."
And the IA Soldiers seem to appreciate the hard work the instructors put into the class.
"The instructor is great," Muhammad Salih, an IA Soldier with the 49th IA Bde., said. "I wasn't very good at reading or writing prior to this course, but I'm taking advantage of it and appreciate this opportunity."
Another student said he did not have any prior education and was now able to read, and will even begin taking English lessons soon.
"I couldn't read or write and I've learned to do both in a short time," said Nimr Kassd, an IA Soldier with the 49th IA Bde.
(By Staff Sgt. Jason Douglas, 1st Cavalry Division)
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