9th Iraqi Army Div. conducts logistics training

Photo By Maj. David Olson | CAMP TAJI, Iraq - An Iraqi medic from 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Mechanized Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, holds a saline bag for a soldier with simulated wounds during convoy lane training here March 23. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. David Olson, 1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.)  

TAJI, IRAQ

03.31.2006

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub       

By Maj. David Olson
1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.

CAMP TAJI, Iraq - The 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Mechanized Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, conducted logistics convoy lane training here Thursday, followed by air-medical evacuation training, with Soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade.

The convoy lane training consisted of the patrol leader leading his logistics package convoy along a supply route and reacting to various events: snipers, small-arms fire and roadside bomb attacks.

"I see them (the soldiers) getting better," said Sgt. Maj. Rieiyad Turkey, the senior enlisted soldier of 1st Tank Bn. "Some have good experience, but they all need more training especially supply and logistics. We want training in each basic task."

The convoy training lasted three days, with the third day culminating in a full-speed convoy battle drill, which included treating casualties, setting up and securing a helicopter landing zone, and transporting a casualty using a UH-60H air ambulance Blackhawk helicopter.

"They're doing what they're supposed to do. This is their third day of training," said Staff Sgt. Kevin Coulombe, the logistics advisor on the Military Transition Team, who hails from Fort Kent, Maine. "The medics are doing well."

An air crew from Co. C, 2nd Bn., 4th Avn. Regt., provided the aircraft and the technical knowledge to teach the jundis (privates in the Iraqi army) how to prepare a casualty for transport using an aircraft.

"We receive about 80 missions a week," said Capt. Chris Chang, operations officer for Co. C, from Harker Heights, Texas. "About two-thirds of them are roadside missions, and the rest are medical transfers."

A roadside mission is when the aircraft picks up a patient near the point of injury and takes the casualty to a medical facility, such as a combat support hospital. A medical transfer flight is a mission moving patients from one medical facility to another.

The hands-on training paid off for the Iraqi soldiers, who honed their skills under the watchful eyes of the MiTT.

"This training was very important," said Capt. Barrett May, the range officer-in-charge, who hails from Spartanburg, S.C., and the logistics advisor on the MiTT. "They need to have the ability to sustain themselves in the field."

"We teach them and show them as much as we can," explained Cpl. Richard Binks, a medic on the MiTT, who is from Spanish Fork, Utah. "But until they can do it themselves (using hands-on training), then they can really learn."

During the after-action review of the training, Sgt. 1st Class David Rasmussen, a MiTT company advisor, from Bismarck, N.D., praised the Iraqi soldiers. "Good job. You did the right things. You were fast."

"I want to thank you (MiTT) for your help in the training," Rieiyad added. "We thank our American brothers for their support."

• Date Taken: 03.31.2006
• Date Posted: 03.31.2006 15:53
• Story ID: 5918
• Location: TAJI, IQ