Photo By Spc. Kiyoshi Freeman | Spc. Darwin D. Caceres, a vehicle maintenance instructor with 584th Maintenance...... read more read more
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By Spc. Kiyoshi C. Freeman
3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – Logistics Training and Advisory Teams from across Iraq met here for a conference Jan. 13.
Hosted by the 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), the goal of the conference is to bring all of the LTATs together to discuss their mission, which is mentoring their Iraqi Army counterparts, said Lt. Col. Billy V. Hall, the 3d ESC chief of Iraqi security forces transition teams, and a native of Killeen, Texas.
"We got three brand new brigade teams in," he said, referring to the sustainment brigades which recently arrived in theater. "So what we want to do is bring those new teams in, let them see our campaign plan from the [3d ESC] level," Hall said, with a special emphasis on how those partnerships work with the IA.
That partnership entails training and advising Iraqi logisticians at nine – soon to be 13 – maintenance workshops, in addition to the General Transport Regiment based out of Taji, Iraq.
The overarching goal for this mission, Hall said, is "to help [the IA] develop a self-reliant, self-sustaining capability for their forces."
It is a mission which presents many unique challenges, such as establishing trust, recognizing cultural differences and financing.
"With a Western system, we have a good idea what the resources are [and] that are required to support our systems, and we have the funding to keep the flow of parts going," said Lt. Col. Lance R. Koenig, the coalition advisor for Taji National Supply Depot at Taji, Iraq.
"However," he went on to say, "for the Iraqis, they don't know if they're going to get another shipment or when it's going to come in, so they're more reluctant to release parts."
This is a problem made even more acute by limited finances – the IA is no longer a budgetary priority as it had been under Saddam Hussein – with a fleet of over 160 makes and models of vehicles. Everything from T-72 tanks to British armored personnel carriers to Ford F-350 pickup trucks – all of which requires different parts and different maintenance procedures.
Most of these vehicles will become "legacy vehicles," and will be cannibalized for parts over time. The longer-term solution is the thousands of humvees now in service with the IA, principally because there is already an industrial base in place to support them, Hall said.
"When we started our training, we decided to focus on what we know first – which is the Humvees," said 1st Lt. Isaura I. Ramirez, LTAT officer in charge for the Al Asad 3rd Line Maintenance Workshop, 69th Transportation Company, and native of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
The LTAT mission, though, is not just about translating manuals and training Iraqis to an American stands, which is inherently impossible due to cultural differences, Hall said. It requires people who are adaptable, flexible and culturally sensitive.
"No more hard chargers, my way or the highway-type, he said. When the new brigades arrived, Hall told them they needed "to assign somebody who has a very good attitude, [that] understands the importance of what that mission is, and how well they do, really has an impact on how quickly we can help the Iraqi Army move forward."
The conference allowed the LTATs to get together and share their experiences, to identify common obstacles and to troubleshoot possible solutions.
Koenig said he thought the conference was worthwhile.
"We have to be synchronized in our efforts with the 14 different Iraqi divisions out there as we try to increase their logistical capabilities," he said. "This all ties into a secure Iraq and our exit strategy; being able to draw down to a minimum force and having the Iraqis take over."
| Date Taken: | 01.28.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2009 05:20 |
| Story ID: | 29575 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 195 |
| Downloads: | 140 |
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