Troops And Training

Troops And Training


Since the very beginning of the Ieaq thing, all the concerned leaders have been piping the same line. We will train and equipment the Iraqi Police and Army and once that is accomplished we will hand over the enforcement of security for the country to them. I know damn well you have heard this crap! Do you believe it? I hope the hell not!

How long have we been in Iraq? I beleve going on 5 years or so, is that about right? My next question is a toughy--how long does it take to train these people? I mean come on, are they about there yet?

But wait--they can always say that because of the violence and such, it is hard to find and train adequate forces so that the US troops can be nothing but back-up and logistics. Still how long does this whole operation take?

I will be fair--there have been a few successes, but there should be lots more properly trained individuals than they are telling us they have. I still have not heard an adequate explanantion of why the shortfall.

Maybe they should hire some of the Drill Instructors from the Us military. I mean in this country you can enlist go to basic and on to advanced training and be ready for the battlefield in less than a year. With that kind of production and success with turning out fodder these people should be in charge in Iraq, and then the present program might be on time, for a change.

With all that said, I would like to take on the subject of proper combat training for the American soldier. I have been watching the war progress since the beginning. As an ex-combat soldier, I would like to ask a couple of questions. Are our troops being properly trained in urban combat? I mean, my training was something different from what I see on the tube. The embedded reporters that go out with the patrols, show the men walking single file within 5 feet of each other. My training told me that "to spread out for one round could get you all". And when the reports are with these guys, say on a rooftop they are in position they are within a foot of each other. Now was my training wrong? Or has the technique changed. I can tell you first hand that a RPG will take out everyone within 20 feet of the impact. So why are these troops so close together?

I can see why we are losing people at an ever increasing rate. IMO, their training is lacking. Possibly the military should try to find some people that know how to fight an urban war and let them teach the troops the way to survive.

Just a few thoughts to keep you on your toes.


CHUQ
17/03/07