Photo By Sgt. Brian Johnson | Sgt. 1st Class Ted Blanford from Toledo, under the watchful eye of an evaluator,...... read more read more
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FORT MCCOY, Wis. - In the face of modern warfare, a soldier no longer can go into an area and destroy everything that they see. On the battlefields of Iraq, soldiers must now learn how to work hand and hand with the Iraqi's and build partnerships and coalitions with them. A soldier needs to be aware of how the Iraqi culture operates to be effective in their mission there.
The soldiers of the 1434th Engineer Company learned those lessons during a recent training exercise at Fort McCoy, Wis.
The 150 members of the Grayling Michigan based unit were activated June 11 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They reported to their mobilization station at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin June 14.
The 1434th members were taught some basic skills to include how to properly greet an Iraqi citizen, basic language skills, and how to properly meet and talk with an official in an Iraqi town or City.
Staff Sgt. Farrell Nesbit, of the Fort McCoy based 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry, helped train the soldiers of the 1434th about cultural awareness.
"The lessons learned today are extremely important," said Nesbitt. "The Iraqi culture is much different than the culture in the United States. In order for us to ultimately build the trust of the Iraqis, we need to know how to properly interact with them. We cannot treat them the same way as we would someone in the United States. We have to be able to win their hearts and minds. If we cannot win their hearts and minds, we may never fully accomplish our mission in Iraq."
Sergeant First Class Ted Blanford of Toledo said of the cultural awareness training, "In the modern army today, cultural sensitivity is paramount. Our soldiers are more than blunt instruments; they are ambassadors of freedom to their host country. The more we know and understand the people that we are fighting for, the smoother and more successful the transition to their freedom will be."
The 1434th will continue training at Fort McCoy until late summer before they go to their duty station in Iraq.
| Date Taken: | 06.25.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2015 23:05 |
| Story ID: | 160412 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WI, US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Local Soldiers train to build international partnerships, by SGT Brian Johnson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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