MUQDADIYAH, Iraq, June 6, 2006 — Iraqi army soldiers guarding a key checkpoint here will soon be able to fight fire with fire - mortar fire, that is. To ensure Iraqi soldiers with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 5th Division know how to use these weapons, U.S. soldiers assigned to C Company, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, spent a day and night training their Iraqi counterparts with the 60 mm mortars. Live firings were conducted with high-explosive and illumination rounds. “The checkpoints get hit from time to time,” said U.S. Army Capt. Andrew Berry, a member of the 3rd Battalion Military Training Team. “A 60 mm mortar will give them illumination, which is the equivalent to a bright searchlight. “That will be very beneficial.” Checkpoint 346, which overlooks a major thoroughfare, has been a frequent target of nighttime insurgent small arms fire and mortar fire. Iraqi army forces often have been unable to return fire because they were unable to see the enemy or direction of the fire. Having mortars with illumination rounds should change that, and allow Iraqis to stage a more effective response.
[The Iraqis] are usually pretty excited whenever we get to come out and work with them. They are always very motivated to work with us. They usually do very well.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Stack
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The training was planned by U.S. Army Capt. Erik Schweppe, Company C’s fire support officer. He said this checkpoint was chosen because it was surrounded by open fields and had been a frequent target for insurgents. “They have good visibility from the hill,” said Schweppe, who hails from Schaumburg, Ill. “Plus, safety had a lot to do with it.” Iraqi soldiers responded quickly to the training from the fire support teams despite the blazing afternoon heat. Team members set up targets for the live fires while their noncommissioned officers drilled their Iraqi counterparts on the finer points of mortar deployment. “Look at the smiles on those guys faces,” Berry said pointing to the Iraqis eagerly practicing with the mortars. “They’ve been on the wrong side of mortar fire too many times.” Seasoned C Company noncommissioned officers, like U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Stack and Staff Sgt. Dylan Spang, conducted the training. They gave a class on setting up the mortar tube and then reviewed the capabilities of the rounds being fired this day. Then it was time for hands-on training. The Iraqis were led through a series of drills to make them comfortable with loading, aiming and firing the mortar rounds. The camaraderie between the U.S. and Iraqi forces was established almost instantly. As the firing began, soldiers from both nations congratulated each other as rounds landed near the targets down range. Cheers went up and high-fives were exchanged. |