Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division participate in a training course to improve close quarter’s marksmanship skills Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Gabe near Baqubah, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2006)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2006
SR# 081806-142


by Pfc. Paul J. Harris
3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

BAQUBAH, Iraq (August 17, 2006) -- Gunfire rings out followed by sharp commands in Arabic. Iraqi Soldiers stack against the barriers like pieces in a puzzle and attempt to clear the adjoining room. It is this close quarter’s marksmanship training that makes the Iraqi Soldier better.

Iraqi Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division completed a month-long training course Aug. 16. The course was taught by U.S. Special Forces and the Military Transition Team Soldiers at Forward Operating Base Gabe.

"A democracy needs good fighters and good Soldiers, especially in an area like Baqubah," said Gen. Samon Talabany, commander, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, who was at FOB Gabe to see his Soldiers progress.

Talabany said he was happy with the training coalition forces provided and did not think there were many units in Iraq that got this type of help.

The training focuses on close quarter’s marksmanship and basic movement techniques similar to training U.S. Soldiers receive in basic training.

"It was not too hard as long as you paid attention and kept your head in the training," said a 2nd Brigade Iraqi Soldier after receiving his certificate of completion.

The Soldier said he will take this information and teach it to the other Soldiers in his unit.

"When a Soldier finishes the training you can see the change in him," Talabany said. "Every month they are training one company from the brigade. They are doing very well and are extremely professional."

The reason for this training is to get Iraqi Soldiers to become a cohesive unit. The Soldiers are proficient at fighting; but the fundamentals of communication and movement that U.S. Soldiers learn in basic training were not taught to the Iraqi Soldiers until now.

"A large percentage of the guys in 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division were (Iraqi) National Guard and they received no basic training," said Lt. Col. Frank Muggeo, Military Transition Team leader for 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers. "They were on the street, they gave them a gun and they have been fighting for a couple of years without any of the training we would have gone through."

Though it was like starting from scratch, Muggeo, along with Talabany, is pleased with the way the training has enhanced the skills of the Iraqi Soldiers.

"They go back to the unit as a platoon as opposed to a bunch of guys," Muggeo said. "I think the transformation of the brigade has been magnificent."

Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division fire at paper targets simulating enemy forces during a training course monitored by Iraqi officials and U.S. military advisors to improve close quarter’s marksmanship skills Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Gabe near Baqubah, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2006)

Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division sprint from a room they just cleared to the next objective during a training course to improve close quarter’s marksmanship skills Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Gabe near Baqubah, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2006)

Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division dismount their truck and prepare to storm a house during a training course to improve close quarter’s marksmanship skills Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Gabe near Baqubah, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2006)

A Soldier from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division pulls guard in front of a truck as his fellow Soldiers storm a house during a training course to improve close quarter’s marksmanship skills Aug. 16 at Forward Operating Base Gabe near Baqubah, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2006)