SOUTHWEST ASIA – The Iraqi army’s 76th Brigade, which previously used mostly Soviet weapons, were issued new M16A2 rifles, shotguns, mortars and other military equipment supplied by the coalition recently at Taji Military Complex, Iraq.
Task Group Taji is supporting the Iraqi Security Forces by training them on this equipment and preparing them for their upcoming fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Col. Matthew Galton, Task Group Taji commander, said he was pleased to see the weapons and equipment being issued.
“This is a critical step in the brigade’s preparation for operations against Daesh, and is a huge boost to (ISF) soldiers’ morale,” he said. “Our aim is for the Iraqis to be confident in their procedures, confident in their equipment and confident in the man fighting next to them.”
The recent Iraqi Security Forces losses have not affected the morale of the 76th Brigade, while the equipment issue has enhanced their fighting ability. Gen. Ali Khalid Abdullah, commander of the 76th Brigade, said he believes the new weapons are important for his soldiers.
“The (soldiers) have more confidence in these weapons,” he said. “The Australian, New Zealand and United States forces are happy to train us on the new weapons and prepare my soldiers for the fight.”
Lt. Col. Ash Collingburn, Task Group Taji Training Team Unit commander, said these new weapons will be important in the next phase of training.
“The training so far has been excellent,” he said. “The 76th IA brigade will go through a complete training package on all the new weapons including the M16A2 rifle. Toward the end of the training, we will conduct a live firing exercise at the company level. We are developing their ability to use ‘combined arms’ and instilling in them the confidence to defeat Daesh.”
Iraqi Security Forces have progressed significantly from squad level tactics to platoon and company level tactics since Australian and New Zealand trainers arrived, according to Collingburn.
“From basic fire and movement, the soldiers have moved to combined arms training where we are incorporating heavy weapons,” he said. “This is really good progress and the United States trainers have set us all up for success. The feedback from the Iraqis has been very positive and the results on the ground speak for themselves.”
The 76th Brig. will redeploy from the Taji Military Complex next month as a well-prepared force to fight ISIL, while Australian and New Zealand trainers prepare to train another brigade.
(Story by Australian army Capt. Bradley Richardson, 1st Joint Public Affairs Unit, Task Group Taji, CJTF-OIR Public Affairs)
| Date Taken: |
05.23.2015 |
| Date Posted: |
06.01.2015 11:27 |
| Story ID: |
165092 |
| Location: |
TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: |
188 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
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