Story filed 4-23-05

By Edward Lee Pitts
Military Affairs

ack silhouette designed to simulate a person. But one sharp-shooting Iraqi proudly displayed his bullet-riddled target to 278th Sgt. Mark Halliday.

Sgt. Halliday, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., responded by shouting "zen" or "good job," in Arabic to the laughter of the Iraqis.

Teaching U.S. fighting principles to the new, all-volunteer Iraqi army has been a priority of the Tennessee-based 278th since the start of this month. Lt. Col. Jeff Holmes, the 3rd Squadron commander, said about half of the squadron's troops is focused on coaching and mentoring two Iraqi army companies as well as an Iraqi battalion's leadership staff.

Thursday was target practice day for the 2nd Platoon of Delta Company in the Iraq army's 206th Battalion. Two more Iraqi army companies are scheduled to arrive here soon as the Iraqi army continues to redistribute itself among bases now occupied by U.S. bases across the Diyala Province.

LANGUAGE BARRIER

The Tennessee Guardsmen here hope that putting aside their weapons to watch the Iraqis shoot will one day allow the Iraqi army to take care of its own business here without help.

The language barrier and differences in both discipline and culture between the two countries has made instruction difficult, soldiers said.

"When I get home I'm taking Arabic classes because I fully expect to be back," said Sgt. Halliday, 23.

During the training, a 278th soldier asked a translator how to say "cease fire" in Arabic as volleys echoed across the desert. Translating instructions from English to Arabic and responses from Arabic back to English makes for long days, according to Staff Sgt. Ted Green, 38, of Gallatin, Tenn.

"You can take a two-hour class and make it four hours just like that," he said, snapping his fingers.

Throughout the afternoon's target practice 278th soldiers overcame the language barrier by getting on their hands and knees to demonstrate visually proper shooting technique. Once, Sgt. Halliday fired the AK-47 of one off-the-mark solider to make sure the weapon was not to blame for errant shots.

"It looks all right to me," Sgt. Halliday said after betting another U.S. soldier $10 he could shoot the target. "I just think he needs to get a pair of glasses."

"Probably half of them do," responded Sgt. William Dorman of Clarksville, Tenn.

With the first 20 rounds fired, one Iraqi soldier hit 17 on target and received a round of applause while other soldiers manage to hit just one, two, three or four rounds on target.

Sgt. Leo Shinkle of Pleasant View, Tenn., said he blamed equipment for much of the shooting troubles. Iraqi platoons have to share AK-47s, he said.

"A lot of things they need to work on will not be fixed until the (Iraqi) government generates some money," said Sgt. Shinkle, 48.

A PERFECT SCORE

To qualify on their weapons the Iraqi soldiers must hit on target 30 out of 60 shots, 20 each from three different firing positions.

After earning a perfect score of 20 hits during the second round of firing, Khalil Mohamed Kareeb took his moment in the spotlight for a brief speech. Through a translator, he thanked "Coalition Forces" for his newly honed skill.

"Now he needs to teach the other men how to shoot like that," said Sgt. Dorman, 36.

Of the initial group of nine just two qualified. Numerous shots missed altogether, kicking up the dirt beyond the target. Battalionwide about 69 percent of the unit's nearly 200 soldiers qualified with their weapons, said Lt. Gregg Murphy, of Chattanooga, the 278th 3rd Squadron's Iraqi army coordinator.

"We are making them perform to our standards," he said.

Those who failed to qualify were pulled off the firing line and given an impromptu class under the shade of the range's wooden observation tower. Trainer Staff Sgt. Green outlined the proper breathing, leg position and trigger pulling mechanics to the crowd of Iraqis. Staff Sgt. Green said the soldiers need to learn their weapons -- how to break it down, put it back together, adjust its aiming sights and clean it.

The 278th soldiers have not just focused on the mechanics of the military. They said the old Iraqi army under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein did not provide regular soldiers with the big picture behind a mission. The Iraqi army also failed to develop a solid core of noncommissioned officers, the equivalent of sergeants who make up the backbone of the U.S. Army.

"Battalion commanders used to get with 300 guys and say, 'Take your tanks, sit on that hill and shoot somebody,'" Sgt. Halliday said. "The American Army doesn't work that way."

As part of the plan to develop more on-the-ground leadership, 278th soldiers said they are teaching Iraqi squad and platoon leaders the military basics using Arabic textbooks and then having these Iraqis explain what they have learned to their rank-and-file soldiers.

"We sit and watch them train their own soldiers. That is the way it should be," Sgt. Halliday said.

Sessions include lectures and drills on searching both persons and vehicles, conducting ambushes, traffic roadblocks and foot patrols, administering first aid, reading maps and securing bases, according to Staff Sgt. Green.

"You have to be patient with them," he said. "But I know as long as we keep training them now it means fewer U.S. soldiers coming over here later."

The ultimate goal is for the Iraqi army to perform independent missions with the 278th in an advisory role. Two weeks ago the Iraqi army here planned and conducted a battalion level-sized operation, Lt. Murphy said. The Iraqis arrested 27 suspected criminals during a sweep of villages north of Jalula, he said.

However, an Iraqi officer shot and wounded a civilian during the search after the civilian insulted the officer, a crime under the old regime. Lt. Murphy said 278th officers made it clear such acts will not be tolerated in the new army.

"We preached the punishment can't outweigh the crime," he said. "They are going to have growing pains. Hopefully when the new laws are established freedom of speech will be one of them."

INSTILLING DISCIPLINE

A hurdle toward complete autonomy for the Iraqi military, Lt. Col. Holmes said, includes troops learning how to fire with discipline when attacked rather than dangerous, indiscriminate shooting that puts innocent lives in jeopardy.

Mr. Kareeb, the platoon sergeant of Thursday's Iraqi training group, said through a translator that he hopes such abilities will come with more experience.

"We would like coalition forces to go home and visit their own house," said Mr. Kareeb. "But 35 years of destroying this country cannot be made good in one or two years."

The Iraqis soldiers are highly motivated and eager, which will help them overcome deficiencies, Lt. Col. Holmes said.

"They are like a sponge," he said. "Their goal is to be just like us."

Staff Sgt. Green said Iraqi army soldiers often end an instruction by applauding the 278th instructors.

Mr. Kareeb, who spent 14 years in the old Iraqi army, said he can already see a difference in his new troops.

"In the last army, soldiers were looking for corruption and getting bribes and oppressing people," he said. "They didn't care about training or the principles of a solider."

Now the Iraqi soldiers said they come to serve willingly.

"I chose this job because it is not like the last military," Ahmad Hassan Ali, 38, said through a translator. "It is now free."

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

On the Web: Photos by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika of the 278th Regimental Combat Team are available on the Times Free Press Web site. Visit http://www.timesfreepress.com/kp.

Story Copyright to Chattanooga Times Free press