Posted on 03/21/2007 5:51:25 PM PDT by SandRat
Iraqi army soldiers take lead on Riyadh mission.
RIYADH, Iraq, March 21, 2007 — The Iraqi army soldiers’ flashlights pierce the darkness as they search the Riyadh marketplace for any wires or materials that may indicate the emplacement of an improvised explosive device in the area. Following close behind are U.S. soldiers from D Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, who work closely with the Iraqi army to conduct searches of various parts of the city.
"The IA (Iraqi army) is making strong improvements with the command, from the top down, with putting the right men into the right job and getting the soldiers the right training,"
1st Lt. Jakim Finlay, platoon leader.
“Every mission we do, IA or Iraqi police are with us, and we search the marketplace a lot,” said Sgt. Shaun Raymond, a squad leader with D Company. “The marketplace is the main place we’ll hit up because it’s completely crowded during the day and we don’t have a chance to search it too well. At night, it’s a lot easier to search thoroughly.”
Since D Company’s arrival, one of its goals has been to train the Iraqi army soldiers so that they can take the lead in operations in the city. The Iraqi troops have made significant progress towards that goal, which can be seen in their conduct during joint operations, said Raymond.
“In the beginning, the IA just kind of wandered around and had no idea what was going on. Tonight they moved together rather than one guy going over here and everyone else doing their own thing,” Raymond said. “They have a much better idea and are a lot more confident in what they’re doing.”
This confidence translates into how well they assist their U.S. counterparts. The Iraqi army soldiers’ knowledge of the city and its people provide a vital edge during missions.
“Anytime we do a cordon and search or high intensity operations, the IA always take the lead as the main effort of the search,” said 1st Lt. Jakim Finlay, the platoon leader in charge of this mission.
“They’re a lot better at searching than we are because they know what to look for. They can take us to places and uncover things that we would never see except through experience,” Finlay continued.
The Iraqi soldiers, not content with the improvements they have already made, regularly work with U.S. soldiers in order to continue developing their skills.
After every mission they do together, U.S. and IA soldiers conduct a review, where they discuss which aspects of the mission went well, and what parts need to be better.
“At the most basic level, the after action review is the thing that’s helping to improve the Iraqi army, because they’re seeing feedback brought back to them and it’s giving them an arrow pointing them to where they need to go,” Finlay said.
"There are a lot of times the IA soldiers weren’t even able to go to basic (training). So now they’re retraining these guys and getting them up on what they need to learn,” Finlay continued. “The IA is making strong improvements with the command, from the top down, with putting the right men into the right job and getting the soldiers the right training.”
Outstanding!
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