MUQDADIYAH, Iraq, March 2, 2006 — Enlisting in the army to defend your country from insurgents is the dream for many of the new soldiers in the Iraq army and coalition forces are training them to reach that dream.
"I joined the Iraq army to defend Iraq against the terrorists. The training given by coalition forces is very useful. It will help us defend ourselves against the terrorists."
Hussan Ali, Iraqi army soldier
|
I joined the Iraq army to defend Iraq against the terrorists, said Hussan Ali, a soldier in the Iraq army for the last two and a half years. The training given by coalition forces is very useful. It will help us defend ourselves against the terrorists. U.S. soldiers assigned to 1st Platoon, Abel Troop, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry have helped train Iraqi soldiers on the .50 caliber machine gun, the PKC and reflexive fire situations. After the machine gun training, the Iraqi soldiers ran to the next range before the stress fire lane. We ran them down the road to get their blood pumping and put them in a realistic situation where they would have to engage the enemy, said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Walter Pratt, the platoon leader of Abel Troop. The Iraqi armys dedication to become an efficient entity is paying off in their patrols in the city. They speak with the civilians and are not afraid, said Zaran Muhammed-Abed, a platoon sergeant in the Iraqi army. We are satisfied and feel good about the Iraqi army. Coalition forces are seeing a marked improvement in the performance of their protégés. “Every time we train with the Iraqi army, they get better and better,” said Pratt. “We’ve seen them make great strides to |