Graduation highlights Iraqi Navy’s increasing self-sufficiency

Courtesy Photo | Four Iraqi Navy non-commissioned officers stand at parade rest awaiting the presentation of their coxswain’s certificates and qualification badges during a brief ceremony conducted on Umm Qasr Navy Base’s newly-constructed seawall, Oct. 14. The coxswains are assigned to Iraq’s Defender-class squadron.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

10.26.2010

Story by Sgt. David Scott 

United States Forces – Iraq, Deputy Commanding General (Advising and Training)

UMM QASR, Iraq – A recent ceremony in Umm Qasr marked another significant step forward for Iraq’s maritime security force, as the Iraqi Navy’s school recently awarded four non-commissioned officers with their coxswain’s qualification certificates and badges.

Iraq’s maritime security forces, which include the Iraqi Navy and Iraqi Marines, remain on track to achieve their mission essential-capability objectives, by December 2011.

The morning event was conducted on Umm Qasr Navy Base’s recently-completed seawall, Oct. 14, before an audience not only of Iraqi’s but Sailors from both the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy.

The first three weeks of this particular coxswain’s training course were spent under instruction of Iraqi Navy instructors, and the final three weeks with U.S. Navy instructors, who are part of the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Navy and Coalition Naval Advisory and Training Team. The course included classes in basic seamanship, navigation and basic watch-standing procedures.

“You have got to have coxswains for the Defender class,” said Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Tom Pettigrew, commander of CNATT’s Training Evaluation Department, referring to a specific class of ships within the Iraqi Navy.

“It is fair to say the Defender class is the workhorse of the Iraqi Navy. It is primarily used in sector defense,” Pettigrew said. “A coxswain is a boat driver, in layman’s terms. You need coxswains in order to make the Defender class an effective maritime security warship.”

The event not only expanded the Iraqi Nay’s ranks of certified personnel but suggests the effort to train Iraqi sailors is increasingly an Iraqi-only enterprise. This is apparent as the Defender-class training now moves into a new phase, Pettigrew said.

“The Iraqis are starting the next six-week course where in this instance, the Iraqis are in the lead and the CNATT advisors are in the back, monitoring,” Pettigrew said.

Pettigrew says the best part of the course is the instilling pride in the ranks of Iraqi Sailors, Pettigrew said. It's about the real opportunity to advance and progress in life, while at the same time making a positive contribution towards the defense of Iraq.

These graduates are setting the standard for others that will follow in their footsteps, and take great pride in the fact that they have made significant progress towards a meaningful naval career at the helm of Defender-class vessels securing Iraq’s sovereign territorial waters.

Editor’s note: Scott is a member of the Ohio Army National Guard’s 196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment attached to the U.S. Forces-Iraq Deputy Commanding General for Advising and Training Public Affairs Office.

• Date Taken: 10.26.2010
• Date Posted: 10.26.2010 09:31
• Story ID: 58833
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ