By Sgt. 1st Class Damian Steptore
4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq – Approximately 15 Iraqi army medics completed advanced combat medical skills training at Camp Mittica, near Tallil Air Base, in southern Iraq, Dec 31, 2008.
Soldiers of the 10th IA Division attended the class offered through a continued partnership with the 27th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
Staff Sgt. Junior St. Hilaire and Staff Sgt. Willie Gray, 27th BSB medics, taught the 10-day course which covered combat casualty care, basic pharmacology and how to evaluate casualties.
"I really like to train with the U.S. Army and train on their equipment," said Pfc. Chassid Borhan, 10th IA Div., during one of the previous classes.n"We like to learn their ways of medical care, so we can make ours better."
In order to complete the course successfully, the students were required to pass written and hands-on tests.
"The Iraqi army medics seem anxious to learn medical skills," said St. Hilaire, a native of Baytown, Texas.
The 27th BSB is planning to implement a "train-the-trainer" phase to the monthly course enabling the IA soldiers to sustain their own force and strengthen their medical capabilities.
"Their willingness to work helps us train them because they want to learn and retain the training," said Gray, a native of Greenville, N.C.