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Ready to take on insurgents
By Capt Sarah Hawke
Edition 1168, June 14, 2007 |
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| Prepared: Pte Hashim is among soldiers to receive Australian training. |
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Pte Hashim has been in the Iraqi Army for seven months. With the assistance of Australian troops in southern Iraq, the 23-year-old is preparing for operations against the insurgents in Baghdad.
The infantryman is based at Eastern Barracks near As Samawah and is one of hundreds of Iraqi troops from the Iraqi Army’s 2nd Battalion who took part in one-week courses run by Overwatch Battle Group (West)2 before the Battle Group ended its deployment.
Iraqi Army commanders asked for the Australians to train the soldiers. While the Australian contribution was small, it was a crucial element as OBG(W)2 troops shared tactics relating to vehicle check points, cordon and search operations and street patrols.
Maj James Greenshields, who oversaw the training, said: “Our point of view is to instil the basics in everyone, from the soldier to the battalion commander, of how to operate in an urban environment tailored specifically for the tasks they would be doing in Baghdad.”
Three companies of Iraqi soldiers were rotated through various training activities, such as a night patrol in an outer suburb of As Samawah, patrols at the local railway yard, and cordon and search operations at a wrecked lakeside resort outside As Samawah. Concurrently Australian officers mentored headquarters staff at Eastern Barracks.
One of the trainers, Sgt Shaun Gibbons, said the week helped get the message across “that the officers and NCOs should have faith in their soldiers and for the soldiers to have faith in themselves that they can do the job without being directed all the time”.
Following the training at As Samawah the Iraqi soldiers moved to the coalition and Iraqi Army training facilities at Besmaya where a small group of OBG(W)2 troops facilitated three weeks of small arms and RPG training; the last training element before the Iraqis move on to the streets of Baghdad.
The Baghdad deployment for the troops from the 2nd Battalion will last about three months. For Pte Hashim the operation is a chance to make his country more stable. “It is not good what is happening, a lot of insurgents and a lot of car bombs. I hope we kill the terrorists and get back safely,” he said. |
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