Joint fires exercise benefits ISF, US forces

Photo By Sgt. Emily Knitter | An M1A2 Abrams tank rolls onto the battlefield during a joint, defensive fire exercise on Besmaya Range Complex, June 19. The exercise linked Soldiers from 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, with 17th Iraqi Army Division to demonstrate the potential benefits of the range as a training site for Iraqi army and security forces.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

06.21.2010

Story by Pvt. Emily Knitter 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

BAGHDAD – Army tanks exposed themselves just long enough to fire a few rounds downrange as fire exploded from the barrels.

Overhead, U.S. Army Kiowa helicopters and Air Force F-16 fighters blazed across the sky, the ground below them exploding from the impact of 2.75-inch rockets and bombs respectively. Shouts echoed between Soldiers in the moments of silence between impacts as they maneuvered into position among the small molehills offering the only source of protection in an otherwise barren desert.

Soldiers from 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, partnered with 17th Iraqi Army Division to perform a full-scale defensive fire exercise at Besmaya Range Complex, June 19, incorporating the capabilities of the Army, Air Force and Iraqi army. The exercise was designed to show the full training possibilities available on the range to Iraqi army and Iraqi federal police commanders from across Baghdad.

The Besmaya Range Complex, a military training facility with the capacity to train Soldiers on a wide range of skills from individual weapons qualification to full-scale exercises, offers many benefits to the reforming Iraqi army and police as they work toward independent operations.

“The main purpose [was] to show the Iraqi security forces how they can best utilize the range,” said Maj. Robert Olszewski, the 1st AAB information operations officer. “Since they are redeveloping their security forces, it’s not that they’re starting from scratch, it’s that they are revamping their entire system. With us here, it allows us to help them along that process and show them a way to do things and then we can tailor it to their needs in the future.”

The demonstration began with U.S. and Iraqi snipers on a small hill reacting to simulated enemy fire.

Army Sgt. Jon Foster, a sniper with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, who participated in the event, was grinning afterwards.

“Our part in this demonstration went flawlessly,” said Foster. “My IA counterparts did a great job. Anything I ask them to do, they are right on top of it.”

The Soldiers with 1AAB and 17th IA trained together for four days prior to the demonstration. Foster said the training gave him the opportunity to make a significant impact on helping Iraqis take full control of security in Iraq.

“I feel like I have helped out with improving their training,” he said. “Everyone that I have encountered I have tried to help out, and they train real [well] and learn real quick.”

After the sniper team began their part of the demonstration, tanks rolled onto the site to provide support, huge plumes of dust billowing behind, shrouding a crowd of observers as the tanks moved into position.

The explosions shook the area as again and again the tanks on the ground, and Kiowa helicopters in the air, reacted to simulated enemy fire.

Air Force Lt. Col. Kevin Jablow said a large-scale training operation like this is rare. Because the Army and Air Force do not often get opportunities to work together in training scenarios, the benefits of the exercise provided more than just a demonstration of the range capabilities.

“We got a whole lot of training for ourselves integrating with the Army, and the Army got a lot of experience working with Air Force,” said Jablow.

However, the main focus remained on the ISF.

“The range here is extremely effective and extremely capable,” said Jablow. “It is going to carry on for years and years, and the more experience they get on it, the more training capability it will have for the Iraqi army and Iraqi air force.”

Army Lt. Col. Gregory Sierra, battalion commander for 2nd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt, said he hoped Iraqi commanders understood the potential of Besmaya.

“It is really important for the Iraqi commanders, as they continue building on their capacity, to understand how great of a training center this actually is, from small arms training all the way up through collective training like [this],” Sierra said. “I think our Soldiers did an amazing job: 17th IA soldiers participating in this helped out to make this a great experience.”

All in a day’s work, Sierra explained.

“This is our mission,” he said. “We are an advise-and-assist brigade, so we are over here to advise Iraqi commanders and help train them, and assist them in getting better wherever they need us.”

The Soldiers participating in the event expressed their belief in the mission, and hope that the Iraqi forces use this exercise to further their push towards independence.

“If the Iraqi forces take one thing away from this, I hope it is knowledge; knowledge of the fact that they can actually use [Besmaya]," Foster said. “There are vast capabilities for training out here.”

• Date Taken: 06.21.2010
• Date Posted: 06.22.2010 12:29
• Story ID: 51783
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ