Posted on 05/12/2006 6:01:34 PM PDT by SandRat
CAMP TAJI, Iraq, May 12, 2006 – An Iraqi armored brigade is ready to take its place on the battlefield, military transition team officials said yesterday. The 2nd Brigade of the 9th Iraqi Division will assume responsibility for battle space in this region north of Baghdad May 15. The unit's soldiers will join fellow tankers of the 1st Brigade, who assumed responsibility for defending Iraqi territory in December.
The brigade has four battalions, three combat and one maintenance and supply. It is equipped with T-72 tanks from Hungary and BMP armored fighting vehicles from Greece. The unit will take over the area just north of this sprawling American and Iraqi camp.
The brigade has been partnered with U.S. units since February and has figured in operations throughout the area around Taji. Following the February bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, tanks from the brigade deployed to Baghdad to protect shrines in the city.
In June, the 9th Division will assume operational control of the 1st and 2nd brigades. The Iraqi division will report through the U.S. 4th Infantry Division, the main unit of Multinational Division Baghdad, but will be responsible for all operational decisions in the battle space.
U.S. military transition team soldiers will use a command post exercise concluded yesterday to validate the 9th Division's progress. The American soldiers will make their recommendations to Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq.
The exercise is the latest in a series seeking to ready the division to take operational command. American officials said the Iraqi soldiers understand the planning process and how to transmit orders from higher commands to subordinate ones.
"The command post exercise finds out if they understand the steps and answers some key questions like, 'Do they give good guidance?' 'Are they using the guidance in their analysis?' and, 'Are they producing a good order that their subordinate units can understand?'" senior transition team leader Army Col. John Hort said. "What we're seeing right now is that it's pretty much yes to all of those."
More saddness set in for the drive-by-media and the Dems.
Good news. I hope they keep pushing hard in this regard (armor). We cannot guarantee an American presence in Iraq pass 2008. If Hillary wins, the Iraqis are on their own. I hope we can make their army as strong as possible by that point.
I would like to see some artillery being developed as well. I realize how nervous this would make our own forces, about the possibility that artillery would be turned on American troops. But I would hope this issue could be addressed somehow, perhaps by locating the are Iraqi artillery within sectors controlled mainly by Iraqi troops.
In a few years they will hopefully have enough oil revenue to quit buying that Russian crap and spend their money buying US equipment.
L
Death before dismount, guys. Good luck!
Artillery, which in the past has lent dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl, is being squeezed between a highly mobile armor and tactical air support, which will probably be the last element of our forces to leave the theatre.
I think this is why Rummy cancelled the "Crusader" project years back.
Crusader was a waste of time and money. The German Panzer 2000 could do 80% of the pie in the sky crap that Crusader was supposed to do. Now we have inferior artillery -- the Paladin, while capable, is an old and tired 155mm system. We have squeezed every last ounce of juice from that baby.
"Artillery, which in the past has lent dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl, is being squeezed between a highly mobile armor and tactical air support, which will probably be the last element of our forces to leave the theatre.
I think this is why Rummy cancelled the "Crusader" project years back."
I agree with your assessment of artillery's reduced role. Rummy's defeat of Crusader was an epic battle---too bad some of our military are more committed to the fight for pork than the fight on a battlefield.
Nonetheless, it seems to me that the Iraqis will need the artillery for some period of time. Behind this thinking is my idea that we cannot be sure what will happen in the US government in 2008---so I would prefer that we make the Iraqi armed forces functional as a completely independent force now---albeit a less than ideal one.
In reality, my thinking is a bit scattered here, since it is hard for me to envision the survival of this Iraqi government if the US really pulls out all its support. Nonetheless, I'm hoping against hope that this can happen.
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