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I participated in a Bloggers Roundtable with the Director of Strategic Effects and United States Forces – Iraq Spokesman Major General Jeffrey Buchanan. I was tail-end Charlie and was surprised that no one asked about the US Excess Defense Articles [EDA] equipment delivery or the external defense training programs for the Iraqi Army [IA] before I did. I was hoping someone else would ask so I could move down my list of questions. It was obvious the General was primed for these 2 topics. One interesting item was that a joint "Intelligence and Operations Center" is being established to coordinate...

Logistics is not sexy - it is tedious and boring to most people. Logistics is also the essential component to any military operations. “Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics.” Without the beans, boots, and bullets – combat operations are impossible. The Iraqi Army [IA] is organized on a modified US Army structure while the Ministry of Interior [MoI] paramilitary forces - the Federal Police [FP] and Department of Border Enforcement [DBE] are organized more on Italian Carabinarie structure. Both structures normally have support, transport, and maintenance components at each level: ----break---- The IA has built about 40 percent of its...

Iraqi army builds up first tank division Published: Dec. 21, 2010 BAGHDAD, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The new Iraqi army has started building up its armored forces with the first batch of 140 U.S.-built M1A1 Abrams main battle tank, the same type that crushed Saddam Hussein's military in March 2003. The 9th Armored Division, based near Baghdad, will be the spearhead of an army that will likely have a strength of more than 300,000 troops in up to 20 divisions, six of them armored. That's a far cry from the 1 million-man army, with 5,500 mainly Soviet- built T-72 and...

“The Iraqi Army, which recently took control of their military's rotary-wing assets from the Iraqi Air Force, uses the Huey primarily as a scout and reconnaissance aircraft.” With this sentence, the announcement of the formation of the Iraqi Army Air Corps was made by Specialist Roland Hale, a journalist for the 1st Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade. While there are limited details concerning this reorganization, the known structure of the Iraqi Air Force makes sorting out which squadrons are now Army Air Corps simple. The subordination of the air bases, training establishment, and the future air defense brigade are less...

The U.S. military has supplied about 10,000 M-16s to the Iraq Army. But officials acknowledged that the Iraqis have decided to maintain the AK-47 as the lead assault rifle.The Iraq Army has determined that the M-16 was more accurate than the Kalashnikov. But officials said the Army concluded that the AK-47 was more reliable in the searing Iraqi summers. U.S. Army advisers have completed a course on the M-16 assault rifle for Iraqi soldiers at Camp Taji. The two-week course, which took place in mid-June, was meant to help the Iraq Army introduce the M-16 and, in some units, replace...

On the outskirts of this former insurgent stronghold, Munir Ibrahim Ismail and his family have taken up residence in an American military latrine. They picked up the trailer full of toilets at a junkyard for about $5,000 — less than it would have cost them to build a real house — and set to work. They tore out the toilet bowls and scrubbed the trailer for days with disinfectant. They ripped off tiles, poured a concrete floor and added a window. They erected a divider to create two rooms and tacked on a concrete kitchen at the back. Presto! A...

Soldiers from the 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and Air Force F-16 fighters teamed for four days with the 17th Iraqi Army Division conducting a full-scale defensive-fires exercise at the Besmaya Range Complex outside Baghdad. The exercise was designed to show the full training possibilities available from individual weapons qualification to full-scale exercises to Iraqi Army and Iraqi Federal Police commanders from across the city. "The main purpose was to show the Iraqi Security Forces how they can best utilize the range," said Maj. Robert Olszewski, the 1st AAB information operations officer. He said the joint training...

Soldiers serving on Camp Taji, Iraq, trained Iraqi troops on the fundamentals of marksmanship with the M-16 rifle, June 15. The training was part of a continued effort by the U.S. to phase out the Iraqi Army's use of the Soviet-era AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle. The swap between the two weapons has gun-enthusiasts across the military and social-media sites up-in-arms, as fans of both weapons debate the practicality of the initiative. The AK-47, which has become symbolic of Middle Eastern militaries, has been used by the Iraqi Army since the 1960s. The weapon is less accurate than the western M-16...

The Iraqi Army is continuing to increase in size, restructuring to fill its mission of external defense. Now the Iraqi Army appears to be redeploying/rotating most, if not all, of the Iraqi Army divisions to support training, operations, and to break any untoward local political or criminal influence. In December 2009, the Kurdish press reported the planned transfer of the Iraqi Army’s 6th Division from Baghdad to Ninawa and the 10th Division from southern Iraq to Kirkuk. This indicated 2 planned rotations: 6th Division in NW Baghdad swapping areas with 2nd Division in Mosul and 10th Division in DhiQar swapping...

The Iraq Army has expanded its use of a U.S.-origin assault rifle. Officials said the Iraq Army has absorbed more than 5,000 M-16 assault rifles from the United States. They said the delivery of additional rifles as well as training would be intensified by the U.S. Army in 2010. "The M16 is now the weapon of choice for the Iraqi army," an Iraqi Army officer identified only as Capt. Anwar, said. Over the last year, the Iraq army has been training its soldiers on the M-16A4 rifle. The seven-day training course has taken place at the Shaiba training center and...

The Iraqi Army has come a long way since 2003, when the old, Sunni Arab dominated force was disbanded, and a new one, loyal to a democratic government, and led by newly recruited and trained officers, was built from scratch. Because of the Sunni Arabs loyal to Saddam (and Sunni Arab rule) fought a four year terror campaign, while the army was forming, the best troops were formed into special "intervention" units. This resulted in an army organization consisting of one "Intervention Corps" and three other corps of lesser quality. Total manpower is about 250,000 troops. Most divisions have four...

Iraqi Soldiers with the 49th Iraqi Army Brigade, 12th IA Division, attend a literacy class at the 49th IA Bde.'s compound in Kirkuk province, Dec. 3. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Douglas, 1st Cavalry Division. KIRKUK — In an effort to ensure the success of its Soldiers in military educational courses, one Iraqi Army division here has instituted classes to instruct Soldiers on Arabic reading and writing. Working closely with the 49th Iraqi Army Brigade, 12th IA Division, are U.S. Soldiers with a Military Transition Team, who observe and provide logistical support for the classes.Maj. Tim Rustad, a Mankato, Minn.,...

Staff Sgt. Timothy Wallace (center), an instructor assigned to Company B, 163rd Combined Arms Battalion, explains the need to be constantly on the lookout for Improvised Explosive Devices during a Counter-IED class on Camp Slayer, Sept. 6. Photo by Sgt. Joshua Risner, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. BAGHDAD — Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) are a deadly part of the landscape here, and it takes sharp eyes and keen knowledge of what to look for to stay out of harm's way. Soldiers of Company B, 163rd Combined Arms Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, created a counter-IED class here designed...

Rushing out of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, Iraqi Soldiers hit the ground and take up security positions during a training exercise in Baghdad, Aug. 18. Photo by Sgt. Travis Zielinski, 1st Cavalry Division. BAGHDAD — American servicemembers here continue to train the Iraqi Army (IA) using the same methods available to U.S. military forces. Starting off with the basic steps and procedures, a crawl, walk then run approach helps the Iraqis attain professional military standards. The 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, teamed up with 150th Armed Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team,...

Iraqi Army mechanics participate in a class on the Humvee fuel system at Camp Ali, July 16. Photo by Lance Cpl. Melissa Latty, 2nd Marine Logistic Group. CAMP RAMADI — One Marine has come a long way since beginning a maintenance partnership here in February with the Iraqi Army and Military Transition Team 9999. Staff Sgt. Donald L. Marsh, a platoon sergeant with Support Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 4, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), teaches bi-weekly maintenance classes with in-depth classroom instruction followed by practical application on everything from the fuel system to the electrical system of a Humvee."Marsh has...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE TAJI, Iraq (July 14, 2009) — Soldiers from the 4th, 5th, and Headquarters, Iraqi Army Field Engineer Regiments partnered with 50th Multi-Role Bridge Company from Fort Leonard Wood, a part of Joint Task Force Eagle, to train on Mabey and Johnson Bridge emplacement at the Iraqi Army Engineer School from July 3 to 13. The Iraqi Army Engineer School trains 400 to 500 Iraqi Army engineers each rotation. The 50th MRBC, which supports the 555th Engineer Brigade, assists this effort by instructing groups of 20 to 30 IA Engineers during ten-day blocks of classroom and hands-on bridge...

Sgt. Fedra A. Toy instructs Iraqi Soldiers on how to properly administer an intravenous injection during a five-day Combat Life Saver course at Contingency Operating Base Adder, June 17. Photo by Sgt. Crystal Reidy, 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). COB ADDER — Two U.S. units partnered to provide Combat Life Saver (CLS) skills to the Iraqi Army (IA) during a recent five-day training course here. Medics from the 287th Sustainment Brigade and 4th Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 1st Armored Division, partnered to provide CLS training to four medics from the IA 10th Special Forces Commando Battalion.The goal was to conduct a...

Spc. Anthony Wilson, 1st Cavalry Division, instructs two Iraqi Army Soldiers on their new single channel ground and airborne radio system on Forward Operating Base Marez, July 8. Photo by Pfc. Sharla Perrin, 1st Cavalry Division. MOSUL — Coalition forces throughout Ninewa are continuing to support their Iraqi Security Force counterparts through integrated training events such as marksmanship and radio communications. Troops with the 1st Cavalry Division’s operations section trained an Iraqi Army (IA) communications team on the installation and operation of their new vehicle radio communication systems on Forward Operating Base Marez, July 8.The single channel ground and airborne...

Iraqi policemen in Basra celebrated the withdrawal on Tuesday. A recent spate of high-profile bombings that has killed over 250 people has added to the uncertainty of the handover, but it did not dampen the national pride of the day. Photo: Haider al-Assadee/European Pressphoto AgencyIt should be a victory day for all; but not without cautious optimism, nervous trepidation, and healthy skepticism. Peter Feaver: Early reports that General Odierno felt the deadline should slip a bit gave way to more recent reports that he was comfortable meeting the deadline. This reassured me somewhat, until I re-read this assessment by Stephen...

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2009 – The withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from all Iraqi cities and towns was completed over the weekend and ahead of tomorrow’s deadline, a Pentagon spokesman said on a cable TV news show today. “Overall, the security situation is stable enough for Iraqi security forces to take on this added responsibility,” Geoff Morrell said on CNN’s “Newsroom.” “It’s one that they want, and it’s one that the commanders on the ground feel they are capable of taking on. “It has to be OK because there’s a legal agreement, which forces us to abide by these timelines,”...