Posted on 12/19/2006 4:38:41 PM PST by SandRat
FOB PROSPERITY – One of the benefits of teaching Iraqi Soldiers is the opportunity to learn from them as well. Military Training Teams, while providing instruction and mentorship for the Iraqi Army, are also learning as they go.
The MiTT of the "First Team's" 2nd Brigade Combat Team works a seemingly endless schedule to ensure 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division runs the way they should be. They lay the foundation, point them in the right direction and the Iraqis do the rest.
Although the training team is relatively new, they do well, according to First Sgt. Joseph McFarlane, the top noncommissioned officer for Headquarters Troop, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, and a Traverse City, Mich., native. Several of his troop comprise the team in charge of training and observing the Iraqi troops.
McFarlane said immediately following a “left-seat/right-seat ride” with his counterparts from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th ID, he and his team hit the streets of Baghdad with the Iraqi Army.
Early into a patrol Dec. 7, the team went onto Haifa Street in city’s center. The team hadn't even dismounted for more than a few minutes before the action began.
The IA received reports of a suspicious vehicle, and spotted it almost immediately. They stopped the car and found four weapons being illegally transported by the occupants: two AK-47 rifles and two pistols.
As the event unfolded and the MiTT observed how the IA was handling the situation, shots rang out. One narrowly missed the team's officer in charge, Maj. Chris Norrie.
The Barton, Vt., native hastily took cover as did the rest of his team.
"A sniper round hit a stone pillar about 20 feet behind me," Norrie said. "I was thinking … we just got here!"
The team and their Iraqi counterparts seized the weapons, detained the men and weren’t too surprised by the sniper fire. McFarlane said they'd been shot at the last four times they'd been out on the streets.
The team from the "Darkhorse" Battalion kept moving with the IA. They then drove to a trailer under a bridge where an Iraqi intelligence officer reported the location of a weapons cache.
Team members kept an eye on their surroundings while the IA went to work. They'd already been shot at once, but this time they came away unscathed. Sgt. Jay Mayhle said sometimes it's good to get shot at.
"It's gotta be scary out here or you lose your edge," said the Pittsburgh native. "Sometimes it bothers you, but you have to get out and get the blood pumping and get the adrenaline rush. It helps you focus."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.