SAMARRA, Iraq (July 8, 2006)-When the deployment is complete, and the troops have the time to stop and reflect, they will have a year of accomplishments to look back upon.
 Soldiers of the Military Training Team and Iraqi Army soldiers pose together for a photo outside of Samarra, Iraq during Operation Swarmer. U.S. Army Photo: Sgt. Waine D. Haley, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Det. |
The 3rd Special Troops Battalion's Military Integrated Training Team attached to the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, at Forward Operating Base Brassfield-Mora, can be very proud of their accomplishments in training and mentoring the Iraqi soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division.
This MiTT is training and mentoring more than 600 Iraqi soldiers at nearby Forward Operating Base Seven. Over time, the Iraqis have been taking on more and more security responsibilities with less involvement of Coalition Forces.
The MiTT's goal is to promote the methods and tactics that have helped the U.S. Army over the last 200 years to the Iraqi Army leadership. Capt. Thomas Swint, team leader for the Brassfield-Mora MiTT team, liked the MiTT team training concept from the beginning.
"I saw the thing and I loved it... this improves their security forces," said Swint.
The concept of training Iraq's army is simple: teach them so they can better take care of themselves and protect themselves from the insurgency.
 Iraqi Army soldiers watch as one of their officers practices "checking for bleeding" during a first-aid class conducted by the Military Integrated Training Team's medic, Spc. Clint Radcliffe. U.S. Army Photo: Spc. Cassandra Groce, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Det. |
Wright said language and culture were his two biggest obstacles, but they have been overcome with time. He also keeps his job and his time overseas in their proper perspectives, as a good non-commissioned officer should do.
"Everyday, I see these guys before they go to bed, and I see them the next day and do the same thing until everybody gets home. I just want to make sure everyone is 'good-to-go,'" said Wright.
Wright is not the only person on the MiTT who wanted to make sure everything and everyone was "good-to-go." Sgt. 1st Class David Brackett is the team's operations NCO and taught the Iraqi soldiers marksmanship. Because of the team's daily interactions with the IA soldiers of FOB Seven, friendships have formed. Brackett and the rest of his team continue to mourn the loss of one Iraqi soldier, Lt. Ahab, who made quite an impact on them because he was such a "go-getter." Ahab died at the hands of a suicide bomber.
Brackett said the Iraqi soldiers are actually in more danger from anti-Iraqi forces than Coalition Forces Soldiers are. The reason has to do with logistics.
"They go out [on patrols] in little Nissan pick-up trucks that have no protection and get 'IED-ed' left and right just like we do," said Brackett. "When we get 'IED-ed' [we are protected by our armor]; when they get hit, two people get killed right off the bat."
The Iraqi Army soldiers face many challenges that are not faced by U.S. Soldiers. Stateside, U.S. Soldiers can go to work in their uniform with little fear that someone will want to hurt them or their families. Swint said the Iraqi soldiers have to worry about being seen and they will usually change into their uniform once they reach the camp.
"The Iraqi Army as a whole is new. It took us 200 years to get our army where it is today and a lot of people expect the Iraqi Army to get there overnight," said Brackett.
Everyone on the team believes that a solid noncommissioned officer corps is what makes the U.S. Army great, but the NCO is still a new concept to Iraqis.
 Members of the Military Training Team pose in front of the "The MiTT Pit," an outdoor room they use for training and meetings. U.S. Army Photo: Spc. William Jones, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Det. |
The Iraqi soldiers are now involved in almost all strategic operations designed to seek out and detain insurgents. Earlier this year during Operation Swarmer, Iraqis and Coalition Forces stood side by side on the helicopters as they went to assault the objective. The success of the Iraqi Army in these operations is in no small part due to the training they have received from Brassfield-Mora's MiTT and other MiTTs in the area.
"Every one of them is braver than you and me, and they don't get to demonstrate how proud they are to be in the military, because someone will kill him or his family," said Swint.
