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V CORPS TEAM HELPS TRAIN NEW IRAQI ARMY TO 'CRAWL, WALK, RUN'

V Corps Release

Release Date: 3/25/2004

By Spc. John S. Wollaston 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A small contingent of V Corps and Australian soldiers is teaching a new Iraqi army the tactics and skills necessary to defend their country.

The six-Soldier team from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the corps' Task Force 1st Armored Division is working with its coalition partners to train, advise and mentor about 120 Iraqi Army soldiers at Camp Cooke, a former Iraqi military installation in Taji, just north of Baghdad.

The soldiers of the new Iraqi Army are a mix of old veterans and new recruits. Carefully screened soldiers who had served in the former Iraqi army are joining ranks with new recruits with one goal in mind: to make Iraq safe for their fellow citizens.

"There's a lot of pride in the soldiers," said Capt. Johnny Casiano, one of the 3rd Brigade trainers. "(The Iraqi soldiers) have the potential to be a powerful force."

Using the U.S. Army's "crawl, walk, run" instructional doctrine to train the Iraqis, Casiano and his team started with the basics, concentrating on squad- and platoon-level tasks.

So far, the soldiers being trained by Casiano's team have participated in eight combined U.S.-Iraqi operations in the Taji area.

"At the beginning, it was tense working with the Iraqis," said Sgt. 1st Class Dan Smith of the 123rd Main Support Battalion. "But now they're happy we are here. It feels real good working with them."

Several of the Iraqi Army soldiers echoed similar sentiments.

"At first we had a very different impression of the U.S. Army," said an Iraqi major. "Now we realize they are good people who want to help us and they came to liberate us."

"There is mutual respect between all soldiers and they've been very good at assisting us with our training," the major added.

And at a time when it is still dangerous for Iraqis to be seen openly working alongside coalition forces, the Iraqi soldiers are more than anxious and ready to serve their county, Casiano said. A recent terrorist attack in Baghdad is an example of how willing the Iraqi soldiers are to serve their fellow citizens, he said.

"They wanted to go down there (to the attack site) and help," Casiano said. "They had no orders to do so, but they were willing to go down there and help."