'Vanguard' Battalion assists 11th Iraqi Army Division-led training on urban operations

Photo By Staff Sgt. Daniel Stoutamire | Iraqi soldiers with the 11th Iraqi Army Division discuss operations with their trainer (center), who acts as a kind of drill sergeant at the training site prior to entering a “shoot house,” or model building with targets within, during urban operations live-fire training July 2, 2011 at Camp Taji, Iraq. Soldiers with Company B, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, assisted the training, ensuring safety standards were followed.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

07.14.2011

Story by Spc. Daniel Stoutamire 

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

BAGHDAD — A swift kick busts open the door, and several soldiers quickly pour into the room, scanning for enemies and eliminating opposition with quick, accurate bursts of fire. When the first room is empty of opposition, or “clear,” the soldiers huddle together and continue to systematically clear every room in the building. The process is over almost as soon as it begins.

Soldiers with Company B, 1st “Vanguard” Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, assisted with the live-fire urban operations training conducted by their partners with the 11th Iraqi Army Division July 2 at Camp Taji, Iraq, as the IA soldiers honed their skills on entering and clearing rooms and buildings.

Learning these skills can be vital in a place like Baghdad, with its many narrow streets and densely-populated neighborhoods, said one of the Company B trainers.

“To fight in urban terrain, you’ve got to go through houses, going through the streets of Baghdad,” said 2nd Lt. Jose Trinidad, a platoon leader with Company B. “So it’s really important for them to understand concepts like how to go through and assault an objective clearing a house, and taking out whatever enemy is in there.”

The training was based off Battle Drill 6, which prescribes the methods by which a small squad or platoon-sized element can maneuver through rooms and buildings, taking out the enemy and avoiding collateral damage.

Trinidad and other Company B soldiers said the Iraqi soldiers had to gradually work their way up to the final training event of actually entering the model building and using live ammunition to engage simulated targets. First, they worked in a “glass house,” a two-dimensional, wall-less representation of the building, accurate down to the configuration of the rooms.

“The glass house is a mirror image of what they are going to expect in the actual live-fire shoot house,” said Sgt. Sean Campbell, a squad leader with Company B and a Tampa, Fla., native. “It’s good familiarization, and helps to develop muscle memory.”

Helping the Company B soldiers was an Iraqi trainer, who acted in a capacity similar to drill sergeants in the U.S. Army: showing the Iraqi soldiers the proper way to do things, whether through a demonstration or verbal coaching. The trainer has been working with the American soldiers for some time now and has developed a good understanding of what the Americans wish to convey to the Iraqi soldiers, said Trinidad.

Though doing any kind of live-fire training in confined spaces is an inherently risky exercise, the training went off without any problems, said Campbell.

“The Iraqis have been very good at muzzle awareness and safety,” he said. “That’s our biggest thing we actually look out for.”

While there were several positives to take out of the event, more work is needed before the Iraqis can consider themselves a truly professional outfit, Trinidad and Campbell said.

“I think we just need to spend, in general, more time going through everything — doing the entering and clearing rooms, Battle Drill 6,” Campbell said. “Definitely [they need more] range time, in general, just trigger time.”

Trinidad said working with Iraqi intermediaries, such as the trainers, will be crucial.

“They’ve gone a long way, but it will take time,” he said. “The trainers understand that if the soldiers are given the chance, the training, the time and the leadership, they can be a better, more professional army.”

• Date Taken: 07.14.2011
• Date Posted: 07.15.2011 01:15
• Story ID: 73765
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ