Photo By Sgt. Michael Tuttle | Pvt. Najah Hassan Kathim waits in the rain for the chance to qualify on his AK-47 at...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Michael Tuttle
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
KIRKUK, Iraq – Having already waited in the cold and driving rain, the jondis, Iraqi soldiers, lay in the mud to finally take their turn firing their AK-47s at targets fighting the wind to stay upright. The Iraqi army basic trainees need to qualify on their weapons and their packed training schedule doesn't allow them to wait for prime conditions
This kind of dedication, despite the day's nasty weather at the K-1 Iraqi Army Base, hasn't always been the case for the Iraqi army.
"Back in the old army, the soldiers would probably stay inside and the whole day would have been wasted," said Iraqi army Command Sgt. Maj. Mubrad Sarheed Abed, the Regional Training Center command sergeant major. "Now the jondis have to be ready to deal with anything because the training will go on."
The current cycle of basic trainees are entering the last of eight weeks of basic training at K-1's RTC, the Iraq army's largest basic training site.
Unlike most cycles in which soldiers are assigned to various units after they graduate, the soldiers that are training together now will stay together to help form a new brigade that will be stationed in Samarra, 125 kilometers north of Baghdad.
"We told them (the Iraqi army) early on that they had to train like they're going to fight," said 1st Sgt. Jeffrey Morris, Coalition Military Transition Team noncommissioned officer in charge.
The CMATT is a U.S. Army team of four Soldiers that works with the RTC as advisors and mentors. In their 11 months here, they have helped the Iraqi army standardize their training program of instruction.
"They have really learned how to be flexible and stick to the training schedule," Morris said. "They're dedicated to the mission so they make it happen."
Formations of jondis high stepped down K-1's mostly paved roads during an early morning run while the strong winds blew the rain into their faces. They pressed their soaking uniforms off the damp ground while pumping out pushups and avoided jumping into puddles while performing calisthenics.
RTC officials hope that struggling through these hardships of basic training together will help the new Iraqi army soldiers form a strong unit in Samarra.
"These guys are close to my heart, more than my own brothers," said Pvt. Najah Hassan Kathim about his fellow basic trainees. "We've had enough time to train together, we know each other and we'll go to battle together."
| Date Taken: | 04.27.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 04.27.2007 14:50 |
| Story ID: | 10153 |
| Location: | KIRKUK, IQ |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 76 |
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