AATTI changeover
Trainers return home and roles adapt in Iraq

By Cpl Damian Shovell

FIFTY-ONE members of the second rotation of Australian Army Training Team Iraq (AATTI) returned home on January 30 after helping train 2700 Iraqi soldiers and officers in northern Iraq.

The successful five-month tour marked the end of training Iraqi infantry brigades.

The final 34 members of the 54-member AATTI 3 deployed on February 15 to undertake the new role of instructing logistics operations and resource management to the Iraqis.

The new training will cover logistic officer training, transport management, maintenance of transport and equipment, management of stores and equipment and store operations.

Instructor-training programs will also comprise a significant component of training. DCA Maj-Gen Ian Gordon said the AATTI had built a tremendous reputation among Coalition-contributing forces and the new Iraqi Army.

“Previous rotations of the AATTI have told us that the Iraqi troops responded well to the Australian approach to training and soldiering.

The Australians formed a strong bond with the Iraqi officers and soldiers they trained,” he said.

One officer who returned with AATTI 2, Capt Mark Bainbridge, said the training team was organised in three teams of 12 officers and senior NCOs assigned to the 19, 20 and 21 battalions of the Iraqi 8 Bde.

A HQ training team that consisted of the CO, S1, S2, S3, S4, RSM and Chief Clerk trained the 8 Bde HQ.

“We were able to develop a good rapport with the Iraqis through our use of their language, which they thought was pretty good,” he said. “They were happy to approach us when they required confirmation or clarification of any facets of the training, and friendships developed.”

As with the first AATTI, the second rotation conducted a staggered four-week officer and NCO integration course, followed by an eight-week recruit-training course for each battalion.

“It varied between battalions, but roughly between 12 to 14 weeks of training were conducted for each,” Capt Bainbridge said.

“The Australians were there as training advisors to the Iraqi staff, and we also acted in a mentoring role as well. We facilitated the training for the officers and NCOs.”

He said the significant challenges for the deployment were the cultural and language barriers, as there were no interpreters for significant periods of the training.

Members relied on a two-week Arabic language course conducted before deploying. There were rocket and mortar attacks against the camp, but Capt Bainbridge said the “enemy threat was sporadic and fairly hard to gauge”.

He said there had been some improvements made to the facilities at the base, and a new dining facility was under construction following the destruction of an earlier dining facility when a truck bomb exploded beside it during the first AATTI deployment, killing 10 and injuring more than 40 Iraqi trainees.