'Lifeline,' Iraqi army mechanics learn from each other

Courtesy Photo | Command Sgt. Maj. Julia Kelly (left), senior enlisted advisor, 299th Brigade Support Battalion "Lifeline," 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Multi-National Division-Baghdad presents a Lifeline Certificate of Achievement to an Iraqi army mechanic.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

08.15.2009

Courtesy Story

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs

BAGHDAD — In the midst of what has become fairly commonplace training operations in Iraq, Soldiers from the 299th Brigade Support Battalion "Lifeline", 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Multi-National Division — Baghdad are finding their roles reversed among their intended students in the Iraqi army.

Mechanics from the 299th Brigade Support Battalion have spent time at Forward Operating Base Constitution, on the outskirts of Camp Liberty, in the continuing effort to train their counterparts in the Iraqi army.

With the troops decked in coveralls and the bay decorated with various petroleum products, tools are passed back and forth and fingers point here and there. When it comes to vehicle maintenance it seems that there is a universal language, but translators are on hand to ensure that the machinery of education is running properly.

Sometimes the lessons come from the Iraqi mechanics that have had to hone their craft under far different circumstances.

"These guys have accumulated their knowledge without the technical manuals and formal instruction that we know, so the process of trial and error has forced them to be intimately acquainted with every nut and bolt on this truck. In some ways they know it better than we do," said Sgt. Brian Davis, a native of Antlers, Okla., a member of the Lifeline Logistical Training Advisory Team. "We're learning things from them that don't show up in our manuals."

The experience has exceeded expectations on both ends, but the lessons go beyond the well-worn fifteen millimeter wrenches.

With their heads under the hood, these mechanics have been able to share a great deal of life experience as well. As wrenches turn so does the conversation and Lifeline Soldiers are able to put a much more human face on a culture that can seem so far removed from western culture.

"It really hits home how unfortunate the image of this people is; that a handful of extremists have been able to overshadow the real culture here in the eyes of so many people," said Spc. Douglas Bruno, a native of Syracuse, Utah. "These guys remind us of some of the mechanics in our own company."

Recently several Soldiers from the Lifeline LTAT stood in the shade of the small bays with their Iraqi army counterparts and received honors from the Lifeline battalion's Command Sgt. Maj. Julia Kelly.

The bonds that have formed across the cultures were obvious in the playful banter before and after she presented the mechanics with coins and certificates. Kelly, who takes a great deal of pride in the accomplishments of her battalion, was touched after departing from the ceremony.

"It's good to have these moments," said Kelly. "With all of the other things that I have to deal with on a regular basis, I look forward to times like this."

• Date Taken: 08.15.2009
• Date Posted: 08.25.2009 03:16
• Story ID: 37905
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ