According to POTUS, this is the #1 issue as to why we cannot abandon Iraq...not until these forces are ready to operate effectively without our military's direct support.

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Coalition Efforts in Northern Iraq Reduce Number of Roadside Bombs

US Department of Defense | Jun 11, 2008
LINK

WASHINGTON: U.S. and Iraqi military operations in northern Iraq have cut the number of roadside bombs there nearly in half since February, the commander of Multinational Division North told reporters at a Pentagon briefing today.

The number of roadside bombs -- known in military parlance as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs -- discovered in May was 550, compared to 900 in February, Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling told reporters in a teleconference from Camp Striker in Iraq. Coalition troops clear about half the IEDs each month, he said.

Hertling, who also commands the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Division, attributed the improved security to increased capability of Iraqi security forces, the contributions of the “Sons of Iraq” citizen security group, and changing attitudes among enemy fighters who are “just tired, quite frankly, of fighting.”

Security in areas under MND North’s purview -- a region about the size of Pennsylvania -- has improved significantly from six months ago, when northern Iraqi cities such as Hawijah were overrun with insurgents driven out of points south, such as Baghdad, Hertling said. In two offensives launched this spring, significant numbers of top- and mid-level insurgent leaders were killed and captured, allowing coalition gains in Ninevah, Diyala and Kirkuk provinces, he said.

Hertling said he agrees with assessments that the northern city of Mosul is “the last urban stronghold” of al-Qaida in Iraq. But, improvements are being made there, as well, he said. Some 30 outposts have been built there by U.S. engineers since February, and Iraqi forces increasingly are able to secure the area, he said.

“I’ll never say anything is last with al-Qaida because you never know what’s going to happen to them next,” Hertling said.

Coalition forces are focusing more on the desert areas surrounding Mosul, where they believe enemy fighters are fleeing, he said.

Asked about the presence of foreign fighters in Iraq, Hertling said they are from Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Kuwait and enter through the Syrian border in northwestern Iraq. Foreign-fighter facilitators have been found throughout Ninevah, he said. Last week, a Sons of Iraq citizen security unit rejected bribes by smugglers and killed nine foreign fighters at a checkpoint in Salahuddin province, Hertling said.

U.S. and Iraqi officials hope that improved security and a better economy are fostering construction projects and other job opportunities that will give options to people at the lower levels of enemy fighting who aren’t so loyal to the cause. In fact, Hertling said, one intelligence estimate predicted that half of lower-level, or third-tier, enemy fighters would quit if they had a job. The unemployment rate in northern Iraq is as high as 80 percent in some areas, he said.

“Many of these guys are doing some of these criminal or terrorist actions just to get paid and to survive,” Hertling said. “Some of these guys are just gangs that set out to commit crimes.”

The low-level enemy fighters “are the ones that, while we still sometimes have to kill or capture them, the increase in the infrastructure and the ability to provide jobs may cause some additional tipping of this organization in the north, and everywhere else in Iraq,” Hertling said.

Many insurgents are tired of fighting and are beginning to realize “that the way you move forward now in Iraq society is thought the representative process and getting your vote ready,” Hertling said.

Still, the general acknowledged, an insurgent’s suicide attack against police in Kirkuk yesterday was a reminder that enemy fighters will continue to try to intimidate security forces. “The terrorists have gone after those individuals to see if they can break their backbone, and they haven’t been able to do it yet,” he said.

The biggest challenge coalition forces face in the north is in improving Iraqi police units through recruiting and training, the general said. A recently completed police training center in Diyala province is expected to produce as many as 500 new officers per month, he said.

DynCorp International Continues Police Training in Iraq

(Source: DynCorp International; issued June 23, 2008)

FALLS CHURCH, Va. --- The U.S. Department of State has awarded DynCorp International a task order for the Iraq Civilian Advisor Support (ICAS) under the International Civilian Police (CIVPOL) contract.

DynCorp International won the re-compete of the overall Civilian Advisor Support work in Iraq that was awarded in 2004. The new task order has a value of $545.7 million over a performance period of 22 months.

DynCorp International will recruit more than 800 civilian police advisors to help advise, train and mentor the Iraqi Police Service, Ministry of Interior, and Department of Border Enforcement. These police mentors will be assigned to the Civilian Police Advisory Training Team (CPATT), the component of the U.S. military Multinational Security Transition Command responsible for the U.S.-led effort to train and equip the Iraq police service, and will work with the military police teams under the command of Multi-National Corps-Iraq (MNC-I).

DynCorp International will provide support services for the civilian police advisors it provides and for the judicial and corrections advisors provided by another contractor. These services include life and mission support, security services, and IT and communication services.

DynCorp International has been a major part of the CIVPOL mission in Iraq since 2003, and is also working under the CIVPOL contract to strengthen law enforcement institutions and activities in Haiti, Sudan, Liberia, and Afghanistan, and for the Palestinian Authority.

Iraqis to Take Over Anbar Province

Stars and Stripes | Jeff Schogol | June 25, 2008
LINK

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Once the most violent place in Iraq, Anbar province will come under Provincial Iraqi Control on Saturday, a senior military official said Monday.

So far, nine Iraqi provinces are under Provincial Iraqi Control, or PIC, in which Iraqi security forces perform day-to-day operations and U.S. troops provide assistance as needed, the military official told reporters.

"When you PIC a province, the coalition force goes into what we call an operational overwatch: They're there, essentially as a security blanket," the official said.

Anbar province is home to Fallujah, the site of some of the fiercest fighting of the war in 2004 and which averaged about 41 attacks per day against U.S. and Iraqi forces in November 2006, the highest in any of Iraq's 18 provinces at the time.

Local Sunnis initially fought alongside Al-Qaida in Iraq to drive U.S. troops out of Iraq, but when al-Qaida targeted Sunni clans to take control of the insurgency, local sheiks formed an alliance to run the terrorists out of town.

The Pentagon's most recent progress report on Iraq listed only two attacks per day against U.S. troops, Iraqi security forces, Iraqi civilians, infrastructure and government organizations.

In April, the commander of a Marine regimental combat team in the province said security had improved to the point that two of his five battalions would not be replaced when they redeployed.

Al-Qaida in Iraq has been forced to move north, but it is trying to come back to the Euphrates River Valley, the congressionally mandated progress report said.

"The Iraqi Army has handed over security responsibilities in most of Anbar's population centers to the Iraqi Police, allowing the Army to concentrate its efforts on driving AQI [Al-Qaida in Iraq] from hideouts in remote locations," the report said.

Iraqi Air Force Acquires New Aircraft from U.S. Forces

(Source: U.S. Air Force; issued July 11, 2008)

NEW AL MUTHANA AIR BASE, Iraq --- U.S. forces transferred ownership of 11 aircraft to the Iraqi air force July 9 during a ceremony at New Al Muthana Air Base.

Army Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commander of Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq, signed over eight Cessna 172s and three Cessna Caravan 208s worth more than $9 million to Iraqi Defense Minister Abd al-Qadir al-Mufriji.

Brig. Gen. Brooks Bash said the aircraft would be part of the Iraqi air force's training program at Kirkuk Regional Air Base in northern Iraq. Similar to the way the U.S. Air Force conducts its own training, the smaller Cessna 172 is the initial aircraft Iraqi pilots will learn to fly, while the Cessna Caravan 208 is the more advanced, graduated version, the commander of coalition air force training in Iraq added.

In fact, General Bash said, the Cessna 172 is the first aircraft he learned to fly almost 33 years ago.

"The Cessna 172 is very special to me, because it was the first aircraft I ever flew," he said. "And still today, it's the first aircraft pilots in the United States Air Force fly, and now it's the first aircraft Iraqi air force pilots will fly."

General Bash praised the Iraqi air force for the success it's already had. During the past four months, the air force participated in major coalition operations in Basra, Mosul, Al-Amarah and in Baghdad's Sadr City district.

The Iraqi air force is an important reason for the declining attack levels in those areas and throughout the country, the general noted.

General Bash said Iraqi security would continue benefiting from its air force with the new fleet of Cessnas. The additional aircraft will allow more than 130 new pilots to train and graduate by 2010.

"As of now, the Iraqi air force is just beginning to grow," he said. "They will double in size within the next year, giving them up to 6,000 airmen and 133 aircraft by the end of 2009."

In addition, the King Air intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft and King Air light transport aircraft were unveiled during the ceremony. The aircraft were purchased by Iraq's defense ministry for the ISR capability, General Bash said.

He stated the King Air ISR represents the future of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. It provides the latest technology and capabilities in camera-intelligence and surveillance gathering, he added.

The addition of the new aircraft and additional assets to the Iraqi force "signifies the strong partnership between Iraq and United States," he said. "It also represents the strength and growth of Iraqi forces as they continue to fight terrorism and provide security and new capabilities to their country."

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Iraqi troops put on show of strength in Sadr City

LINK

BAGHDAD - Iraqi soldiers took up positions on rooftops and military helicopters hovered overhead Friday in a show of strength in a Baghdad district where Shiite militiamen once ruled the streets. There were no reports of violence.

....

Also Friday, the White House said that the United States and Iraq have agreed to seek "a general time horizon" for deeper reductions in American combat troops in Iraq.

Iraqi officials, in a sign of growing confidence as violence decreases, have pressed the United States to agree to a specific timeline to withdraw U.S. forces. President Bush has opposed a timeline, and the White House said the timeframe being discussed would not be "an arbitrary date for withdrawal."

quote:

Originally posted by Sgt_Schlappy:
Iraqi troops put on show of strength in Sadr City

LINK

BAGHDAD - Iraqi soldiers took up positions on rooftops and military helicopters hovered overhead Friday in a show of strength in a Baghdad district where Shiite militiamen once ruled the streets. There were no reports of violence.

....

Also Friday, the White House said that the United States and Iraq have agreed to seek "a general time horizon" for deeper reductions in American combat troops in Iraq.

Iraqi officials, in a sign of growing confidence as violence decreases, have pressed the United States to agree to a specific timeline to withdraw U.S. forces. President Bush has opposed a timeline, and the White House said the timeframe being discussed would not be "an arbitrary date for withdrawal."

US Army Delivers Armored Trucks to Iraqi Army

(Source: U.S Department of Defense; issued June 22, 2009)

BAGHDAD --- Iraqi troops in northeastern Baghdad have a new weapon in their arsenal, thanks to U.S. soldiers here.

Soldiers from 115th “Muleskinner” Brigade Support Battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team delivered five up-armored Ford F-350 trucks to the 11th Iraqi Army Division at Joint Security Station Rasheed here June 19.

The upgraded trucks offer significant protection and maneuverability for Iraqi Staff Maj. Gen. Mizher Shaher Lateef and his men to move about in his area of operations, said Army Capt. Peter Bogart, the brigade’s provost marshal. “It was a project that highlights the partnership we have with the [Iraqi army],” Army Maj. Michele Reid, the battalion’s executive officer, added.

Soldiers on Mizher’s personal security detachment will use the trucks to escort the general during his daily operations. The detachment’s officer in charge will be held responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the vehicles.

Soldiers from the 115th BSB’s B Company armored the trucks by increasing the amount of protective layers inside and outside the vehicles. After 37 days and about 60 work hours per truck, the trucks were complete and ready for delivery to Mizher.

“The soldiers in the service and recovery shop worked extremely hard on these trucks,” said Army Chief Warrant Officer Staceyann McNish, the battalion’s service and recovery chief. “They spent numerous manhours perfecting the construction of these turrets and gunner’s boxes. The end result was breathtaking.”

Other than determining the best way to complete the armor, the project went quite smoothly, Reid said. “We did have to consider the added weight of Kevlar and metal to how it would affect the trucks,” she explained, “along with considering road conditions.”

The beds of the trucks now contain a gunner’s box made of armor plating and Kevlar for maximum protection while on patrols. The seats are lined with Kevlar and were re-upholstered to cover it.

“We are very grateful to the United States military for all their help,” said 2nd Lt. Salem Ibrahim, a platoon leader for the 11th Iraqi Army Infantry Division. “It has been a great opportunity to work this closely with the coalition forces.”

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...[related]...



Brigade Tests New Concept in Iraq

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Nov. 4, 2009)

WASHINGTON --- The first new “advise and assist” brigades already in Iraq and others slated to arrive soon have a big leg up on their new mission, thanks to the groundwork laid by the “Highlander” brigade, which provided a test bed for the new concept.

The 1st Armored Division’s 4th Brigade has been on the ground in Iraq since April, conducting the initial advise and assist operations to pass on to the first officially designated AAB, explained Army Col. Peter Newell, the brigade commander.

The Defense Department announced in July plans to send four of the new brigades to Iraq beginning this fall to train and mentor Iraqi security forces.

The brigades will focus less on traditional combat operations and more on advising, assisting and developing capabilities within the Iraqi security forces, Newell said. They also will conduct coordinated counterterrorism missions and support the State Department’s provincial reconstruction teams and other U.S. interagency partners in Iraq.

The first units assigned the mission are the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams based at Fort Stewart Ga., and its 3rd BCT at Fort Benning, Ga.; and the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd BCT at Fort Carson, Colo. In addition, the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade, which recently arrived in Iraq, has taken on the AAB mission.

Newell’s job has been to help the new brigades determine what specific skills to train for and how to organize themselves to better conduct their new mission, he told American Forces Press Service by phone from Iraq.

To prepare themselves, his soldiers went through a standard National Training Center rotation focused on counterinsurgency operations, but also sought out additional training in subjects ranging from civil affairs to Iraqi law.

Once they arrived in Iraq, they provided the inbound AABs regular feedback about their activities and the conditions they encountered. They also shared insights into what training benefitted them the most, and what they might have eliminated.

“I am merely providing the insight of the guy who has been tagged with the advise-and-assist proof of principle, and talking to them about changes we have taken on internally, and how they have worked for us,” Newell said.

There’s no cookie-cutter formula that will work for every such brigade in every Iraqi province, he said. Each must be tailored to the specific environment, based on regular assessments of the local Iraqi security forces’ capacity, the maturity of the local provincial government, and the politics within that province, he said.

“What I will tell you is that no two AABs are going to look alike,” Newell said. “They have to fine-tune to fit the environment they are in. But if we provide them the right people, the right training and the right training at the right time before they deploy, as long as it is focused on the environment they are going to, they will do well.”

“Doing well” for an advise and assist brigade involves a lot more than traditional counterinsurgency operations. Much of the 4th Brigade’s work, for example, involves teaching forensics and the evidentiary and judiciary processes to Iraqi police. In another major shift, the brigade’s artillery battalion is focused on civil capacity and directly supporting provincial reconstruction teams.

“That is radically different from kicking in doors and how to do a raid and other things,” Newell said.

The different focus requires a new mindset for the brigade’s soldiers, he said, and a major emphasis on building and maintaining relationships with their Iraqi counterparts.

“Relationships are paramount,” Newell said. “When you are in an advise and assist and enable role, it is incumbent on you to work with your counterpart, to couch the training in terms that they can use … and inculcate it, and in a timeline and capacity that they can actually work with it.”

That’s not how traditional combat elements have operated in the past, he acknowledged. It’s “a lot different than us coming in and saying, ‘Hey, we think you need to do the following three things, and this is how you do it,’” Newell said. “Now, it is a case of sitting down with your counterparts and working with them to understand what it is they need to be doing, and how they want to proceed with the training.”

It also entails explaining to the Iraqi security forces what enablers the U.S. troops can provide, if required, to help them do their job.

Toward this end, Newell and his staff spend much of their time with their counterparts within the 10th Iraqi Army Division as well as local provincial police and border enforcement brigade. They also work hand in hand with U.S. interagency partners assigned to the provincial reconstruction teams or otherwise supporting reconstruction and development efforts.

“That permeates so much of what we do,” Newell said, noting that the myriad meetings, discussions and other engagements his staff participates in can be “intellectually exhausting.”

“But the output of those discussions is so much more productive, because [the Iraqis] are coming to the table and saying, ‘This is exactly what I need. I need more of this; I need less of this.’” Newell said. “And when you do that, they show up ready to go, wanting to take the material, and then you see them go out in the field and do it.”

At no time was the strength of that relationship-building process more evident than on June 30, as U.S. combat troops left the Iraqi cities, but Newell’s soldiers were in more demand than ever.

“I have more soldiers today operating in Iraqi cities than I had prior to the 30th of June. The difference is, they are there because they were invited there, and the Iraqis insist on having them with them,” Newell said. “So the [value of] the relationships is a huge lesson learned.”

These relationships are growing increasingly strong, because the 4th Brigade soldiers embed directly with the Iraqi partners they work with. “We embed, we don’t commute,” Newell said of his soldiers. “So if you have an Iraqi brigade that you are working with, the transition team and the company that are partnering with that brigade go live with that brigade, not on a [forward operating base] someplace.

“And their partnerships are so much better for it,” he said. “They work together, they live together, they eat together, they play together. They truly are partners out there.”

Newell conceded that some of his more junior soldiers, who thought they were going off to war when they deployed, may be less excited about the advise and assist mission than those who’ve already been in combat.

“In many cases, some of the younger guys will tell you they would rather be in Afghanistan than here doing this,” he acknowledged. “But the more senior guys who have been here for awhile, and have been at this for a couple times, will tell you that this is, in many cases, much more emotionally rewarding than their previous experiences here.”

The soldiers recognize, Newell said, that they’re helping the Iraqis take on new responsibilities that will be critical as the United States scales down its forces in Iraq. “They are seeing success in the Iraqis, and they are seeing themselves drawn into the Iraqi operations by invitation,” he said. “And that is a huge difference, if you have been at this for awhile.”

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