Iraqi guard unit assumes security duty
By Gordon Trowbridge
Times staff writer
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military on Thursday turned over security duties in a section of south Baghdad to an Iraqi National Guard unit, one small step in the enormous challenge of building an Iraqi military capable of taking responsibility for its nation’s protection.
In a small ceremony near Camp Falcon, home of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 5th Brigade Combat Team, commanders of an Iraqi battalion pledged to protect residents of a small section of the city’s Rashid district, east of Baghdad International Airport. U.S. commanders and the troops assigned to train and mentor the Iraqi force said the handover reflected enormous improvement since the division arrived in Baghdad nearly a year ago.
“When we first got here, it was raw recruits in PJs and flip flops,” said Army Capt. Martin Wohlgemuth, the officer in charge of training Iraqi forces attached to 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment. “They’re very, very excited now. I don’t know how to explain it — they just want their own sector and to start providing security for their people.”
“They’re ready for it,” said Staff Sgt. Faletoa Sea, an adviser to the Iraqis’ senior enlisted troops. “We’ve seen a lot of progress. Now, the only way to find out if they can do it is to put them out there.”
The often disappointing performance of U.S.-trained Iraqi soldiers has been one of the major obstacles to battling the insurgency here. Many Iraqi troops have deserted when faced with combat, and rebels have targeted Iraqi-operated checkpoints with car bombs and other methods, killing hundreds.
But cavalry officers at Camp Falcon said the Iraqi National Guard soldiers attached to their units have performed well.
“We like ’em,” said Capt. Aaron Welch, commander of a cavalry troop whose sector now includes the Iraqi-controlled area. “They’re good guys, good to work with, and they want to do the job.”
Among the biggest steps in developing Iraqi capabilities has been allowing them to plan and execute missions on their own, with U.S. commanders looking on and making occasional recommendations. The national guard units at Camp Falcon have been given approval by U.S. advisers to mount their own battalion-sized operations, a significant milestone, Wohlgemuth said.
“We sometimes have this overwhelming desire to impose on them the traditions of the American Army,” he said. “It’s the Army we know, our way of doing things. The reality is, they’re not going to do business that way.”
One tradition U.S. trainers are trying to instill is that of leadership by senior enlisted troops as well as officers.
“In the old regime, there was no [noncommissioned officer] corps — officers did everything,” Wohlgemuth said. “The American Army can’t function without NCOs.”
So Wohlgemuth’s trainers set up a slimmed-down version of an Army-style NCO training course.
“We showed them, ‘OK, you’re a [sergeant], your leading this squad, here’s what we expect out of you,” Wohlgemuth. “It was a big adjustment for them, but they’ve gotten past that, accepted it, seen the benefits.”
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-612072.php
"To secure the peace is to prepare for war." George Washington and later Metallica.
