Courtesy Photo | Second Lt. Joel Trinidad, second from right, a platoon leader with Company B, 1st...... read more read more
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Story by Spc. William A. Joeckel
2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C
BAGHDAD—Soldiers with Company B, 1st “Vanguard” Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, including members of a Stability Transition Team, live and work amongst their 11th Iraqi Army Division counterparts at Joint Security Station Old MoD in Baghdad.
Composed of experienced field-grade officers with a support staff of select noncommissioned officers, the STT at JSS Old MoD and the IA work side by side—their offices are in the same building, which enables a seamless flow of information.
“We have an advantage with working and living here, because we get to see what really happens,” said Sgt. Brandon Bartleson, a fire support noncommissioned officer and an assistant intelligence advisor with Company B, 1st Bn., 18th Inf. Regt., and a Colorado Springs, Colo., native. “We are just a few feet away if the Iraqis need us to advise and assist them in any way.”
Improving the partnership and helping the IA prepare to operate without U.S. support is at the forefront of the STT mission.
“Our goal is for the IA to logistically support themselves, train themselves and conduct operations unilaterally without the [help of the] U.S.,” said Maj. Robert Ross, the 11th IA Div. STT operations advisor and a Mays Landing, N.J., native.
As U.S. forces undertake the final chapter of Operation New Dawn, it is important that the Iraqi army has this encouraging attention from the STTs. Discussion and arguments are cultivated in meetings because it helps promote ideas and actions.
“We have the word ‘Why?’ in Arabic posted on the door,” said Bartleson. “It is important to question and argue over information.”
On a daily basis, the STT holds meetings with their counterparts in the 11th IA Div., during which the STT advises the Iraqis on intelligence that should be acted upon, analysis of areas of enemy activity and ideal locations for patrols and checkpoints.
“Any information that gets passed to us, we simultaneously pass it to the IA,” said Bartleson.
Although the U.S. forces are scheduled to leave Iraq in the coming months, there are still a few challenges that the IA faces.
One of these challenges is that the IA has a multitude of enabling elements—such as intelligence gathering assets, an air force, military working dogs and surveillance equipment that sometimes go unused or improperly allocated.
“Iraqis have the assets,” Ross said. “They’re still learning how to coordinate them together effectively.”
The 11th IA Div. is benefiting from seeing how the STT operates, along with the importance of crosstalk between intelligence and operations staff. Recently, the STTs have seen a drastic improvement between the flow of information between the intelligence and operations sections of the IA.
“There used to be a vast buildup of intelligence and no crosstalk for operations on the information to take place,” Bartleson said. “Now we don’t have to be the middleman anymore — the system is working, and both sections like to work with each other, which has happened over the past couple of months.”
Ideally, the work and accomplishments of the STT at JSS Old MoD will lead to the Iraqi army being a robust organization that can take on the security challenges that Iraq will face once the U.S. military departs.
“There is no place I’d rather be at this point of time in Iraq,” Ross said. “This is where the action is.”
| Date Taken: | 06.13.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2011 00:23 |
| Story ID: | 72038 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 204 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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