U.S. Troops Train Iraqi Civil Defense Corps Soldiers

Defend America ^ | Feb. 18, 2004 | Spc. Shauna McRoberts, 1st Armored Div.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

U.S. Troops Train Iraqi Civil Defense Corps Soldiers By U.S. Army Spc. Shauna McRoberts 1st Armored Div. BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 18, 2004 – Soldiers from 1st Armored Division’s 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment are spending the next month training soldiers from the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps is a home guard consisting of Iraqi citizens who volunteered to serve their nation and fight terrorist insurgents within their homeland. The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps soldiers of B and C Company, 304th Battalion, 40th Brigade, originally trained with U.S. soldiers from 82nd Airborne’s 2nd Brigade, but after the brigade transferred authority to 1st Armored Division’s Artillery Brigade, the corps began working with the soldiers of B and C Troops, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. “We’re taking what the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division taught them and building on it,” said 1st Lt. Matt Weightman, a scout platoon leader with C Troop, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment and one of the officers overseeing the training. “We want to provide these (Iraqi) soldiers additional guidance and refresher training.” The training, which kicked off Feb. 8, includes both classroom and hands-on instruction. It encompasses 1st Armored Division battle drills and focuses on five key missions: dismounted patrolling, setting up traffic control points, performing route security, securing a forward operating base, and conducting raids and cordon and searches. The Iraqi soldiers will also spend two days qualifying on an AK-47 assault rifle. The squadron plans to train continuously with Iraqi Civil Defense Corps for approximately one month, Weightman, said. The idea is repetition, said Lt. Col. Charles Williams, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment commander. The more the Iraqi forces train, the more they’ll learn. And training is what they are definitely doing. The cavalry soldiers usually pick up their Iraqi counterparts around 8 a.m. and bring them to Baghdad International Airport’s Camp Slayer, the home of 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, where all the training is conducted. Each day, the Iraqi soldiers go through a different class, instructed by noncommissioned officers in B and C Troops, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. They then have three days to train on a particular task, with a fourth day set aside for re-training. The U.S. soldiers work hard to make the training as real as possible and according to Staff Sgt. William Griffith, a scout with C Troop and the noncommissioned officer in charge of the opposition force, it’s anything but easy. “We basically try to annihilate them so they’ll learn from their mistakes,” he said. “It’s better they make mistakes here than out on the battlefield.” His “annihilation” tactics includes booby-trapped doors, flares, smoke grenades, pistols hidden in the pockets of the opposition force, and snipers. After each run-through, whether the soldiers are tasked with taking out a suspected terrorist, protecting a forward operating base from an attack, or setting up a traffic control point in a populated area, an after-action review is conducted. “They take the training seriously and we emphasize the seriousness of the training,” said Weightman.

Sgt. Marlon Harper (right), a tanker with C Troop, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, and an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps instructor, conducts an after-action review with Iraqi soldiers at Baghdad International Airport’s Camp Slayer. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Shauna McRoberts “These guys are motivated and eager to learn. They want to get out there and start doing missions.Weightman said he has already seen impressive progress in the short time he’s been working with the Iraqi forces. “We’re pushing these guys pretty hard and they’re doing great,” said Sgt. Marlon Harper, a tanker with C Troop and an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps instructor. “In no time, they’ll be ready to go out and do this by themselves.” “Some training is new for us, but everyday we’re learning more and more,” said 2nd Lt. Naseer Mahdi, an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps platoon leader with B Company. According to Williams, the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment soldiers have also benefited from teaching the Iraqi soldiers. “The training is great for both the Iraqi forces and the American soldiers,” he said. “It is beneficial for our soldiers to teach classes, because it validates our own training. Also, showing by example is very important.” “It’s made them think,” added Weightman. “Our soldiers get to see and learn about another culture. They’re learning how to communicate what they’re trying to teach, in spite of the language barrier.” “It’s a great joint operation,” said Williams. “We can transfer the task of Iraq’s security to these forces and, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps forces can feel confident they can do this, not just sideby- side with us, but also by themselves.” Already, the two forces have conducted several missions together, including cordon and searches and setting up traffic control points. Ultimately, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps will be ready to do things on their own, he said. “Eventually, an [Iraqi Civil Defense Corps] company will do its own reconnaissance patrols, gather its own intelligence, and plan its own missions. Our eventual goal is to get them ready to conduct platoon operations independent of American forces,” said Weightman. Mahdi said the Iraqi forces are ready for the task. “It’s an honor to be an officer in the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps,” he said. “My soldiers understand the importance of rebuilding what Saddam destroyed. It is up to us to keep the people of Iraq secure.”

[Mike Darancette]

The Sarge looks like the type of guy that can get the message across.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Soldiers from 1st Armored Division’s 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment are spending the next month training soldiers from the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.

“We’re pushing these guys pretty hard and they’re doing great,” said Sgt. Marlon Harper, a tanker with C Troop and an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps instructor. “In no time, they’ll be ready to go out and do this by themselves.”

2nd Lt. Naseer Mahdi, an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps platoon leader with B Company.. said the Iraqi forces are ready for the task. “It’s an honor to be an officer in the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps,” he said. “My soldiers understand the importance of rebuilding what Saddam destroyed. It is up to us to keep the people of Iraq secure.”

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    1st Armored Division, ICDC,
     Iraqi-zation, freedom, ping!  

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[Righty1]

Can you say cannon fodder? What a thankless job the ICDFs have.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

What a thankless job the ICDFs have.

I think most of them are very thankful.

Tens of thousands died trying, and failing, to remove Saddam themselves.

Most of them lost close family members in horrific ways to Saddam and co., and all who opposed him lived in fear.

Saddam's thugs killed 63 family members of one of our Iraqi allies.

The press is still not sharing their stories, though the stories are well-documented, and as cruel as any you're likely to hear from any regime in history.

CPA-Iraqi commission set up to locate the missing and protect the mass graves:

8 Mass Graves of Iraq: Uncovering Atrocities ~ Coalition Provisional Authority | 1/05/04

Eyewitness testimony:

8 THE CRUELEST COVER-UP ~ Tales of Saddam's Brutality ~ White House | Various

8 Graphic proof from Saddam's Killing Fields ~ Photos ~ http://www.9neesan.com | 1/12/04 | the dead of Iraq

[blackie]

1st Armored Division ~ ICDC ~ Iraqi-zation ~ Freedom ~ Bump!

[windchime]

Bump!

[tat2jay]

i just ran across this today, and oddly enough just this morning i was at the ICDC camp here at camp freedom and took some shots for my xanga - i watched the instructors drill them and punish them and reward them, and the trainees were just as motivated as any troops i have seen.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your first-hand account, J. We need to hear your voice far more often here on the homefront.

Your pics, w/ more common sense comments: (^:

8 Bremer Visits Iraqi Civil Defense Corps ~ Defend America Photo Essay ~ Defend America | 1/29/04

Stay safe over there. Home soon.

[blackie]

We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ terrorists and the democrats are sad ~ very sad!

~~ Bush/Cheney 2004 ~~