Iraqi Navy: Progress, Prospects, and Problems

Flopping Aces ^ | 07-23-08 | Scott Malensek

[Starman417]

Yesterday I had an interesting conference call with Royal Navy Captain Paul Abraham. He is the Director of Maritime Strategic Transition Team in Iraq. The call focused on the development of the Iraqi Navy (no, it's not a joke. They DO have a Navy); specifically: " his experiences working with Iraqi partners in building and developing the Iraqi Navy, which led to their recent operational success in seizing control of their own territorial port of Umm Qasr, protecting 90 percent of all of Iraq's imports and exports."

Currently, the Iraqi Navy consists of about a dozen hard-used small patrol boats (not unlike Senator Kerry's back in Vietnam). Their current mission is to patrol the 50 miles of Iraqi coastline, protect the offshore oil facilities, protect the port of Umm Qasr, and to build up their strength BIGTIME.

Over the next year and a half, they'll be receiving another 47 patrol boats of various sizes (21 will be large patrol boats). Now, for scale, Captain Abraham rightly pointed out that no navy anywhere in the world would think of adding 47 new ships in a year, and training up their people to use them, but that's exactly what's been asked of the Iraqis, what they're expected to do, and what they're doing. Moreover, they're doing it under fire.

Apparently, the Iraqi sailors and Marines get recruited, get some training, and then get sent out on patrols for a few days. After a few days on patrol, they rotate out and get more advanced training that normally would be done before even thinking about sending someone out into combat. All the while of course, their training facilities, supply lines, their families, and their homes are under attack from terrorists, militias, etc. Other sources point out that a great deal of fire is lobbed into Umm Qasr from inside Iran (particularly targeting the detainee facility and the port.

Not long ago, these militias and terrorists tried to take the port, and for a while controlled a great deal of the facilities, but the Iraqis sent in barely trained troops who fought very well by and large, and who successfully thwarted the attack. Those forces were converted to Marines, are getting more training, and are expected to double in size by the end of 2010 (ALL of the timeline for planning and rebuilding the Iraqi Navy focuses on the end of 2010, and is on track). In the end, there will be about 3000-4000 Iraqi Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard personnel by the end of 2010.