Posted on 04/01/2010 5:59:33 PM PDT by SandRat
CAMP TAJI – A 1st Air Cavalry Brigade-instructed Iraqi Strike Force culminated weeks of training with a joint demonstration of capabilities here, March 29. The 1st ACB spent several weeks training the Iraqis on how to plan and execute air assault missions and the importance of air to ground integration.
Attending the demonstration, conducted by Soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st ACB, U.S. Division - Center, was Lt. Gen. Ali Hammadi Tahir, the Karkh Area commander for western Baghdad, and Brig. Gen. Kevin Mangum, deputy commanding general of USD - C, who were able to see the already-strong abilities of the KAC Strike Team enhanced by an aviation platform.
"This demonstration shows the cooperation between [the Iraqi military] and U.S. forces, and it is important that the Iraqi command was included for this demonstration to see the execution method," said Tahir. "This is to lead us in the future to hope that we will be expanding this type of operation more and more."
The Iraqi Strike Team is a group based out of Baghdad that works directly for the KAC. Out of the 110 who graduated the intense training to form the team, 70 were picked to be trained on this advanced aerial insertion technique.
The KAC Strike Team flew on an MI-17 HIP helicopter, piloted by the Iraqi Air Force. 1st ACB Soldiers supported the demonstration from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, while an attack weapons team, comprised of two AH-64D Apache attack helicopters, provided aerial coverage for the assault force.
"We had the task of training the Karkh Strike Team to have advanced air assault capabilities," said 1st Lt. Austin Huckabee, from San Angelo, Texas, platoon leader in Company F, 3-227th. "They were already a squared-away ground unit, but to add to their combat capabilities to act as a force multiplier, we have spent the last couple of months conducting classes and training to get them to [this level]."
Soldiers of Company F trained Iraqi forces on air assault missions in the past, but this time they taught the Iraqi Soldiers how to take the lead in the missions, said Huckabee.
"This was done through precise planning – the experience of the people that led this mission, the capabilities and great method of cooperation in the partnership of the ISF and the U.S. forces," said Tahir.
The 1st ACB has spent the majority of its 11 deployed months working to bring the Iraqi Air Force and the Iraqi Army into a partnership built on mutual trust and respect.
Tahir said the demonstration highlighted their progress.
"This is a positive message to the local citizens of Iraq that there is a bridge of trust between the Iraqi ground forces and air forces," he said.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.