New Brigade Takes Control Of Tough Area Associated Press
March 7, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq - In a small but potentially momentous shift, the U.S. military has handed control of some of Baghdad's most violent neighborhoods to the Iraqi army, a first step toward taking U.S. soldiers off the streets.
The transfer has taken place gradually over the weeks since the Iraqi election and is now complete, leaving about 4,000 Iraqi soldiers with full authority over 10 Baghdad neighborhoods, U.S. and Iraqi officials say.
They include notorious hot spots such as insurgent-infested Haifa Street, which has long been a no-go area for ordinary Iraqis, and the hard-line Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya, another insurgent stronghold.
"This means we do not have to be in place in those areas," said Lt. Col. Clifford Kent, spokesman for the 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad. "They are some tough areas, but the (Iraqi) brigade is well-trained and they're mission-capable."
U.S. advisers are embedded with the Iraqi units, and U.S. forces are on call to help out should they be needed, but the four battalions of the 40th Brigade that have been granted autonomy have full control over their operations, Iraqi and U.S. officials say.
"These operations now are being planned and conducted 100 percent by the Iraqi forces," said Gen. Mudhir Mawla, the commander of Iraqi forces in Baghdad.
Officials had intended for Iraqi security forces to begin taking over from the Americans this year. The transfer was accelerated after the success of January's election, when U.S. soldiers deliberately hung back and left the job of securing polling sites to the Iraqis in order to avoid any impression of interference in the political process.
It is widely acknowledged that the Iraqi security forces performed well above expectations, encouraging U.S. commanders to press ahead with the transfer of authority.
"During several missions and after the elections, a series of decisions were made that they've proven themselves," said Col. Billy Buckner, a U.S. military spokesman. "Now they're at the level of capability where they can be given a piece of terrain to manage and to conduct operations in. We expect as they gain in confidence, more transfers will occur."
It is going to be a closely watched experiment.
"The plan depends on the success of the 40th Brigade in Baghdad," said Mawla, 57, an Iraqi army veteran who came out of retirement to help get the decimated army up and running again. "If we succeed in controlling Baghdad, then there will be no need for the presence of U.S. forces. They will have bases outside Baghdad."
Another brigade, the 41st, was activated last week, and it aims to start taking control of parts of Baghdad by August. If all goes well, the Iraqi army will be in full control of the city by December, Mawla said.
Maj. Gen. William Webster, who commands the 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad, would not put a timeline on the transfer.
"We hope so," he said of the December deadline. "The beginning is very strong, the 40th Brigade is doing very well. They have captured and killed a number of terrorists. But it's going to be dependent on events and on their readiness to fight this counterinsurgency for themselves."
Past attempts to put Iraqi security forces out in front of American soldiers have faltered in the face of insurgent intimidation and infiltration. The infamous Fallujah Brigade, given control of the embattled city of Fallujah after U.S. Marines pulled out during fierce fighting last April, joined the ranks of the insurgents. The police force in Mosul collapsed in the face of a mass campaign of targeted killings of policemen.
In Baghdad's Sadr City area last summer, 800 soldiers out of an 880-strong battalion that was drafted to fight alongside U.S. soldiers deserted after they were asked to turn their guns on their own neighborhood.
But the battalions taking over in the streets of Baghdad today are in far better shape than those earlier formations. Setting out from their headquarters at a former airport in Baghdad last week, the Iraqi soldiers of the 302nd Battalion appeared painfully vulnerable in their open-topped, unarmored pickups. Many of them wear ski masks to hide their identities from residents who might threaten them later.
But they do have flak jackets, helmets, guns and bullets, a marked improvement on the past, and their lack of heavy armor may not be a disadvantage considering the kind of missions they undertake.
"Our operations need to be done quickly, secretly, calmly," Mawla said. "We do not need the tanks with a big noise that alert the terrorists. And the Bradleys are an easy target."
U.S. and Iraqi army officials say they have cracked some of the problems plaguing the recruitment and organization of the Iraqi army and the former Iraqi National Guard, which has been merged into the army. The 40th Brigade was placed in charge of its own recruitment late last year, and Iraqi army commanders say they are better than the U.S. military at keeping out insurgent infiltrators because of their familiarity with local tribal and neighborhood networks.
Units no longer are being drawn from a single neighborhood, a move to avoid the mass defections that would occur when soldiers were asked to fight in their own neighborhoods.
Intimidation remains the biggest problem, said Lt. Col. Alaa Talib Mohsin, the deputy commander of the 302nd Battalion. He has had to move twice in the past year because of threats to his life from insurgents, and 100 members of the 975-strong battalion have quit because of threats.
"Sometimes a soldier tells us insurgents threatened his family, and he's not afraid but he's afraid for his family, so he quits. This is how these cowards work, they threaten children and women," said Mohsin, a former Iraqi army commander who fought in Kuwait 14 years ago.
The election also has given the force a huge boost, both in morale and public image. By braving the bombs and the bullets to protect Iraqis going to vote, the army is being viewed in a new light by many ordinary citizens, helping overcome the force's long-standing image as an army that flees in the face of danger.
In other respects, Iraqi forces may be better equipped to deal with the kind of counterinsurgency operations that are required in Baghdad now, U.S. commanders say.
"The real things that are so absolutely critical in the fight that we're in today on the streets of Baghdad is an understanding of the city, an understanding of the culture and the ability to speak the language, and Iraqi forces bring that to the street," said Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, which handed over to the 3rd Infantry last month after a year in Baghdad.
Mohsin said there has been a marked increase in the number of Iraqis coming forward with tips in the weeks since the Iraqi army began adopting a more visible profile in Baghdad.
"It's easier for people to cooperate with the Iraqi army. In a tough neighborhood they can just take you aside and whisper," Mohsin said. "They can't do that with the American army."
Staff Sgt. Bruce Boardman, improvised explosive device tactics, techniques and procedures noncommissioned officer, electronic warfare coordination cell, Multi-National Corp-Iraq, teaches Soldiers from the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart, Ga., operating procedures of a counter-IED device March 2, at Camp Taji, Iraq. Sgt. Michael Carden
IED class improves Soldiers safety
By Sgt. Michael J. Carden
March 7, 2005
CAMP TAJI, Iraq (Army News Service, March 7, 2005) — A special Army unit in Iraq now has the mission to teach Soldiers about improvised explosive devices.
Until recently, there was no unit or section committed solely to learning and teaching Soldiers about IEDs, officials said. A unit’s knowledge and steps in reacting to IEDs were only based on past experiences in their area.
Now, because of research, data and information gathered from throughout the country, Multi-National Corps - Iraq’s Electronic Warfare Coordination Cell is able to teach these findings to Soldiers, to give them a better understanding of the IED threat. The Soldiers learn recognition, characteristics and placement of IEDs, as well as how to use counter-IED systems, said Staff Sgt. Bruce Boardman, tactics, techniques and procedures noncommissioned officer, EWCC, MNC-I.
“We’ll give an (IED awareness class) to just one person if that’s what it takes to save a Soldier’s life,” Boardman said.
Boardman and Sgt. 1st Class Robert Baskervill, another noncom in the cell, traveled to Camp Taji on March 2 to give the Soldiers of the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, an IED awareness and counter IED systems class.
“IEDs are obviously a big threat. They account for a lot of the casualties in Iraq,” said. Capt. Ken Lizotte, operations officer-in-charge, 603rd ASB, 3rd ID. “I like the fact that we have two subject matter experts here who understand what IEDs are all about and who can emphasize the importance of awareness.”
During the two hour class, Baskervill and Boardman spoke about the general characteristics of IEDS, and described several different types.
The primary types of IED encountered by troops in Iraq are command-wire, remote, and vehicle born IEDs, or VBIEDs. Command-wire IEDs have a detonation switch, such as a garage door opener or washing machine timer, at one end of the wire and the explosives at the other end. Remote detonated IEDs are ignited by a transmitter, such as a cordless phone or hand-held radio. VBIEDs are vehicles turned bomb. They may have an extra antenna and can be detonated by using either the command-wire or remote detonation methods, according to Baskervill.
Baskervill and Boardman also talked about how and where insurgents may place an IED.
“(Insurgents) will put IEDs almost anywhere,” Boardman said. “Placed on power poles or guard rails, buried in the median or low shoulder of the road, or hidden in barrels, tires and trash are all possibilities. A lot of times, they will make sure there is a wall or canal between them and the IED. That way they think they have a better chance to escape or go unnoticed.”
“The enemy is very smart,” Boardman said. “They’re not just farmers with pitchforks.”
“(Insurgents) shouldn’t be underestimated,” Baskervill added. “Many of them have engineering and electronic backgrounds. They’re building (IEDs) from scratch.”
Along with teaching the awareness class, Boardman also joins several different convoys and dismounted patrols each week to assess how Soldiers react to IED attacks or IEDs that have been planted but not detonated, he said.
He stressed to the class that Soldiers should stay focused on their mission, and pay attention to the surrounding environment, when they are in convoy or on patrol. “The local people know if there’s something going on,” Boardman said. “After you’ve patrolled the same areas a few times, you begin to make mental notes about the amount of locals or traffic out and about. If, on a certain day, there’s no traffic or no people walking the streets, that could be a tell-tale sign of an IED or a planned attack. You have to look for things out of the ordinary like that.”
Baskervill and Boardman also talked about the importance of properly operating and executing tactics, techniques and procedures when using their unit’s counter-IED system during a convoy.
“Before the counter-IED systems were put out, the kill ratio of a detonated IED was 70 percent,” Boardman said. “Now that we have the systems, the kill ratio of a detonated IED is 30 percent. That‘s why it‘s so important for units to be aware of our class and the EWCC.”
“Because of this class, I’m more knowledgeable and I’ll be more observant,“ said Staff Sgt. Richard Samuels, motor pool, NCOIC, 603rd ASB, 3rd ID. “I learned a lot about how to react to and identify IEDs, which will better my chances of survival during convoys and patrols.”
“The IED situation will get better,” Baskervill said. “But hopefully (the EWCC) can help people become more educated to have a better understanding of their (counter-IED) systems’ capabilities and overall IED awareness.”
(Editor's note: Sgt. Michael Carden serves with MNC-I Public Affairs.)