Photo By Sgt. Jeff Ledesma | An Iraqi special operation forces soldier conducts testing on a set of night vision...... read more read more
BAGHDAD — The premiere fighting element known as the Iraqi special operations forces may not be considered textbook superheroes, but may be considered somewhat superhuman.
With most of their tactical operations conducted under the blanket of darkness beneath the Iraqi capital's night sky, these elite Soldiers are equipped to see even in the complete absence of light.
One support battalion is making sure their fellow brothers-in-arms see things a little more clearly during their critical combat operations.
Iraqi soldiers of the 3rd Support Battalion have recently opened a repair shop specializing in night vision equipment maintenance, the first of its kind in the Middle Eastern country, on a military compound near the Baghdad International Airport.
Speaking with an authoritative tone while still maintaining a hint of humbleness, the commander of the support battalion said that the opening of this shop is a step in the right direction for the ISOF Brigade.
The battalion's coalition advisor Army 1st Lt. Michael Zdrojesky said that the night vision goggle repair room is a new asset that allows the Iraqis to purge their night vision equipment.
Purging is a process that evacuates air from the night vision device and backfills the system with dry nitrogen, according to Zdrojesky of Philadelphia.
"This procedure eliminates contaminants and moisture that can degrade optical performance," Zdrojesky stated. "The NVG sets that they are currently using were never purged, so now they are able to see more clearly when conducting missions."
Iraqi soldiers are presently capable of identifying which sets of NVGs are working versus non-working.
"This allows the units to be able to maintain the fight especially at night," said Zdrojesky.
The battalion commander since 2006 concurred with his coalition advisor.
"This shop will ensure that the [night vision goggles] are completely mission-capable," added the lieutenant colonel. "It will make missions easier for the Soldiers and guarantee better performance."
"This is a great success because it allows the ISOF to own the night," Zdrojesky claimed.
The future of this shop, according to Zdrojesky, will allow the NVG specialists of the ISOF Support Battalion to not only purge the NVGs, but also fix them.
He continued to explain that the next step in the shop's development would consist of recognizing deficiencies and ordering required parts in order to initiate the repair and return process more effectively.
Once the selected few support Soldiers have mastered the process of purging, the 25-year-old advisor predicted that there will be a course specifically for NVG repair in the foreseeable future.
The soft-spoken battalion commander who resides in the Baghdad area said that he is proud of his unit's ability to make NVGs more combat effective and return them to the units in such a quick manner.
The Iraqi commander and his U.S. advisor were in agreement that the opening of this shop is one step closer to complete self-sustainment for the battalion and the brigade as a whole.
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2009 18:03 |
| Story ID: | 34465 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 379 |
| Downloads: | 219 |
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