By Chris Tomlinson
Associated Press, 18 December 2005
Young Iraqi soldiers will soon begin arriving for leadership training in this small northern town, where Iraqi insurgents once operated with impunity and the buildings were stripped bare by looters.
With the parliamentary election over, the focus for U.S. troops will be to provide the new government with an army it can call its own. U.S. and Iraqi instructors will launch a formal military leadership school in Hammam al Alil on Monday, an important step in creating the institutions that will allow the Iraqi army to sustain itself.
Iraqi army Lt. Col. Yaseen Majeed, the commandant of the Northern Iraq Regional Training Center, complained that some of the reconstruction was not complete, but that otherwise he was ready to receive the first 20 students for the school's pilot course for new sergeants.
He explained that in the old Iraqi army sergeants did not have the authority to make decisions or give orders like U.S. noncommissioned officers, or NCOs.
"Now with the help of the coalition forces, we want NCOs like them," he added. "I don't want to say it is easy, we have to come a long way, but it will get easier day by day."
U.S. Army and Marine units have been operating courses for Iraqi military leaders across the country to fill immediate requirements, but the courses were not standardized and relied on U.S. instructors.
The school in Hammam al Alil will initially use a mix of Iraqi and U.S. instructors, but within a few months will become an entirely Iraqi operation, U.S. and Iraqi officers said.
"The importance of this school to the development of the Iraqi army is absolutely critical," Col. Michael Shields, commander of the 172nd Brigade based in nearby Mosul, said at a joint staff meeting. "We need to make sure we certify each instructor before they get in front of soldiers, to make sure they are the right people for the job."
The training will be modeled on the U.S. Army's primary leadership development course, required instruction for every new sergeant. Shields said he wanted the Iraqi school to develop a "warrior ethos" since graduates will be leading troops into battle.
The center is one of six military schools planned for Iraq. The school hopes to launch a course for new lieutenants and captains in January as well as specialized courses for medics and others seeking key skills later in the year.
So far there are roughly 225,000 people in the Iraqi security forces, including the army, police and border patrol. Experts estimate the minimum number required nationwide will be more than 350,000.
According to the latest figures available, the Iraq army has one division, five brigades and 36 battalions fighting the insurgency. But the Iraqi Defense Ministry cannot provide the troops with the supplies, equipment and staff support they need, including training.
The problem was apparent when Majeed complained to Shields that on a recent trip to the Defense Ministry's headquarters in Baghdad, officers in the training directorate claimed not to know about his school.
"The ministry says they are waiting for a letter from the coalition to confirm the school exists and is operating," Majeed told Shields.
Shields, whose unit has provided the school with supplies, promised to sort out the problem.
The school's location, a former agricultural university campus, was looted when insurgents took over Hammam al Alil, a suburb of the northern city of Mosul, in the fall of 2004. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers along with Iraqi police fought fierce battles earlier this year to retake the town and campus.
"At one time, Hammam al Alil was the bed of the insurgency," said Col. Maher al-Zebari, the local Iraqi battalion commander who shares the base with the school. "This is no longer the case."
U.S. forces spent millions of dollars to refurbish the campus. More than 500 villagers were employed in the reconstruction project and the school is expected to bring an economic boost to the town, Majeed said.
While the first class will only have 20 students, the school will eventually run five classes at a time with 50 students each and more than 90 instructors and staff, Majeed said. As with any new operation, Majeed anticipated some challenges.
"It will start out rough, but it will be great by summer," Shields told Majeed.
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Citation: Chris Tomlinson. "U.S., Iraqi Troops to Open Army School," Associated Press, 18 December 2005.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051218/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_sergeants_school
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