Paratroopers, Iraqi Soldiers partner to keep Anbar roads safe

Courtesy Photo | Second Lt. Hammed, a platoon leader with 2nd Iraqi Army Bomb Disposal Company, 1st Field Engineer Regiment, 1st Iraqi Army Division, conducts dismounted rehearsals with Company A, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, prior to mission execution June 4. The paratroopers have conducted training and bilateral route clearance operations with 2IABDC over the prior four months.  

CAMP RAMADI, IRAQ

06.25.2010

Courtesy Story

1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs

By Capt. Kurt Zortman

CAMP RAMADI, Iraq – American and Iraqi soldiers have been working together to clear roadside bombs throughout Anbar province since March.

Over the past four months, engineers from Company A, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, have conducted training and route clearance operations with 2nd Iraq Army Bomb Disposal Company of 1st Iraq Army Division.

The Soldiers of Co. A have participated in 30 training events and 23 bilateral route-clearance operations with 2nd IABDC. The training has focused on route-clearance fundamentals to increase the capability for Iraqi Security Forces to clear the roads of improvised explosive devices.

Sgt. Aaron Trowbridge has acted as primary instructor for most of the classes involving robotics and hand-emplaced explosives. He established and continues to maintain the training lanes that the Iraqi army uses for fine-tuning skills in identifying IEDs.

“Some of the IA students are actively conducting route-clearance operations with their unit at Camp Fallujah,” said Trowbridge. “This experience makes them great assets during the training to reinforce the lessons being taught and provide real-world applications to their peers.”

The bilateral operations, which have become a weekly event, are a useful tool to validate the training objectives taught at Camp Fallujah during real world missions, he said.

The 2nd IABDC conducts routine unilateral operations every night but schedules time to conduct missions with its U.S. partners. These bilateral operations enable the paratroopers to advise the Iraqis and ensure they are sustaining lessons taught both at their schoolhouse and by the U.S. forces.

The Iraqi soldiers’ institutional knowledge on route-clearance fundamentals varies, but their eagerness to develop and cultivate this knowledge base is strong, according to 1st Lt. Nathaniel Curley, a platoon leader whose mission is training engineers in 1st IA Division.

“The IA [soldiers are] clearly adapting the lessons taught, and implementing those techniques into their route-clearance patrols,” he said.

Curley’s route-clearance platoon has conducted 157 patrols, clearing 16,000 kilometers throughout Anbar province.

• Date Taken: 06.25.2010
• Date Posted: 06.25.2010 13:26
• Story ID: 51983
• Location: CAMP RAMADI, IQ