Posted on 06/15/2009 4:32:18 PM PDT by SandRat
CAMP TAJI — The 10th Sustainment Brigade here has shifted from its role of training the Iraqi Army, and is now in the early mentorship phase of its partnership with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).
The 10th Sust. Bde. ISF section oversees three Logistics Training and Advisory Teams (LTAT) which are partnered with two third-line maintenance facilities -- one here and one at Camp Rustamiyah and Iraq's General Transportation Regiment (GTR).
"We're at the point now where we pretty much mirror and job-shadow the Iraqis," said Sgt. Thomas B. Yates, a 776th Maintenance Company Soldier and LTAT instructor.
Yates said he and other members still answer questions and do on-the-spot training when needed.
At the Taji Third-Line Maintenance Facility – a shop that supports three Iraqi Army divisions and other units on Camp Taji – Iraqi Soldiers are able to do repairs not possible just a few months ago, LTAT advisers said.
Iraqi Army Warrant Officer Adil Naam Kareem, the senior Iraqi Soldier at the facility, said previously if a vehicle in his shop had an engine problem, a new engine would be installed – now his Soldiers are able to diagnose and correct specific problems.
"We make many, many attempts to fix a vehicle before we condemn it," Kareem said.
"They've achieved a great deal," Yates said. "They really take pride in their work."
Progress is visible elsewhere, too.
When the GTR – an Iraqi support unit of about 680 Soldiers that transports supplies to locations across Iraq – was created in September 2008, its LTAT consisted of nearly 60 trainers and advisers.
As the GTR progressed in its ability to run itself, the number of advisers was cut to just eight. That team was recently replaced by a team of five.
"The GTR right now is pretty self-sufficient," said Capt. Sean L. Pilker, a Soldier with the 68th Trans. Co. and the officer in charge of the GTR LTAT. "We're very much hands-off right now."
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