Iraqi soldiers develop urban fighting skills at KMTB

Photo By Staff Sgt. Coltin Heller | Staff Sgt. Andrew Limbocker, infantry squad leader, Company A, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, instructs a squad of Iraqi jinood, Arabic for soldiers, how to move together as a team during room clearing exercises at Kirkush Military Training Base, Feb. 8, 2011. Limbocker and soldiers of Company A are training jinood of 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment, 5th Iraqi Army Division, as part of Tadreeb al Shamil, Arabic for All Inclusive Training, an IA training initiative to modernize external security and war fighting capabilities.  

KIRKUSH MILITARY TRAINING BASE, IRAQ

02.14.2011

Story by Sgt. Coltin Heller 

109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

KIRKUSH MILITARY TRAINING BASE, Iraq – Platoons assigned to 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment, 5th Iraqi Army Division, learned to safely enter buildings and clear rooms under the direction of U.S. Division-North soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, during Tadreeb al Shamil at Kirkush Military Training Base, Feb. 8.

Enhancing IA soldiers’ ability to seek and effectively engage targets in urban environments, room clearing drills are one of several training exercises 5th IA Division units conduct as part of a 25-day training rotation called Tadreeb al Shamil, Arabic for All Inclusive Training, said Spc. Scott Butz, an infantryman assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment.

“Gimlet” soldiers of Company A, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd AAB, are training Iraqi jinood, providing modern unit tactics and logistical procedures, while guiding Iraqi officers and non-commissioned officers to take a leading role in training.

Supervised by Company A soldiers, the Iraqi jinood, Arabic for soldiers, trained on how to clear a room using operational three-man teams, learning to properly and safely enter and exit a building, he said.

“This is critical,” said Butz who hails from Merztown, Pa., to his Iraqi counterparts. “It all starts with the stack.”

The lesson began with how to properly stack outside an entrance to a room. Iraqi jinood first practiced in a “glass house,” an outlined room with no walls, so every IA soldier could observe how each member of the team entered the room.

U.S. soldiers made on the spot corrections, training each Iraqi fire team to move in cohesion and work together as a team.

After team drills, Company A soldiers stepped up the training, placing Iraqi squads in a mock house, teaching the jinood how fire teams bound through buildings, clearing each room while providing security.

“Security is more important that speed,” said Staff Sgt. Andrew Limbocker, infantry squad leader, Company A. “If your buddy goes down, you lose effective fire and security in that sector.”

Once each squad successfully cleared the structure, U.S. trainers added variables, creating scenarios from wounded teammates to enemies and hostages, to demonstrate how confusing a room clearing operation can become if not conducted properly.

“Room clearing is a high-intensity event,” said Butz to Iraqi soldiers. “You need to be prepared for any situation.”

Using techniques learned from U.S. forces, Iraqi cadre at KMTB watched over 5th IA Division jinood as they trained, providing instruction during each phase of the exercise and assisting soldiers of Company A in creating scenarios for the squads.

Limbocker, who calls Eksridge, Kan., home, said he sees Iraqi leadership and their units improving continuously as they work each day with U.S. forces.

“They are always looking for ways to improve the training, so their units get the most out of it,” he added.

Under U.S partnered mentorship, IA soldiers continue training at KMTB, further enhancing their external security and war fighting capabilities, a process that began with each Iraqi soldier.

“We train the individual first, making sure they know the training, before we move to collective unit training,” said Limbocker. “There has been progress, and it can be seen all the time.”

Iraqi jinood of 2nd Battalion, 21st Brigade, deployed for KMTB in late January to train on modern military tactics, as part of an ongoing initiative to train IA units to become proficient at individual and collective tasks.

This is the second iteration of battalion-level training at KMTB, providing Iraqi army units with skills needed to maintain troop readiness and external security capabilities as part of the IA initiative Tadreeb al Shamil.

• Date Taken: 02.14.2011
• Date Posted: 02.18.2011 04:37
• Story ID: 65642
• Location: KIRKUSH MILITARY TRAINING BASE, IQ