Army News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Army Times

Building Iraqi NCOs

MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq — The soldiers walked slowly down the streets of Mahmudiyah, through the busy marketplace and along muddy residential roads.

Packs of stray dogs barked noisily. The locals, many shopping for food and other household items, stared at the passing patrol.

What the locals didn’t know was that the Feb. 19 patrol was a final exam for the Iraqi soldiers, the culmination of a 21-day course designed to teach them how to be noncommissioned officers, a concept that has yet to fully catch on in the officer-centric Iraqi army.

The course is run by an Iraqi master sergeant, with guidance from American soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery, based at Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah.

“One of the things we want to do while we’re here is develop the NCO corps,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Grinston, with the 2-15. “This is an Iraqi-led program. We’re partnered with them, so we mentor them and we guide them.”

Developing the NCO corps in the Iraqi Army is a bigger challenge than training participants in combat skills. Simply finding willing and qualified people has proven difficult, and the very concept of an NCO with authority is somewhat foreign to the Iraqi army, where members of the officer corps regard that as a threat to their leadership status.

When members of the 2-15, part of 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, arrived in Mahmudiyah six months ago, their predecessors from the 101st Airborne Division had worked on a similar NCO training program but the effort had stalled, Grinston said.

The battalion paired its soldiers with their Iraqi counterparts from 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and revived the program, which is similar to the Americans’ Warrior Leaders Course. The month-long WLC, formerly called Primary Leadership Development Course, takes corporals and specialists and trains them in the basic skills needed to lead at the platoon level. However, the Iraqi version is planned and executed by Iraqi soldiers, and it is approved by the Iraqi brigade’s operations officer.

The classes take place in the Iraqi Army Compound, about five minutes south of FOB Mahmudiyah.

The program has completed three cycles and includes three Iraqi army instructors. Grinston hopes to have the program accredited by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.

“Once [the Iraqis] see the value of the NCO … the program will get better,” Grinston said.

Army recognizes value

The value of the 2-15’s program is recognized higher up in the U.S. Army.

“This is the largest, most comprehensive course sponsored by a battalion- or brigade-sized unit in theater,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Neil Ciotola, command sergeant major of Multi-National Corps-Iraq.

Two other brigades, both from the 1st Cavalry Division, run similar courses, but one is five days long and the other lasts 10 days, said Ciotola.

Ciotola took part in the Feb. 19 patrol that was the graduation exercise for the Iraqi soldiers in the 2-15’s NCO course.

“what they’re doing here is they’re training little steely-eyed, squad leader wannabes,” he said. “Anything that this institution can do to impart anything of our profession of arms is a good thing.”

Ciotola said Iraq’s army has steadily improved over time.

“One 15-inch step at a time,” he said. “It’s baby steps. You must be patient with us.”

On Feb. 21, two days after the combat patrol through the streets of Mahmudiyah, a city of about 65,000 residents south of Baghdad, the soon-to-be Iraqi NCOs were rewarded with a graduation ceremony. Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, who as commanding general of the Iraq Assistance Group, oversees American military transition teams in Iraq, was in attendance, along with Brig. Gen. Jabbar, the G-7 of Iraqi Ground Forces Command.

As each enlisted man walked up to the podium to receive his certificate of achievement, he proudly saluted the officers in front of him.

“the next step ahead for the Iraqi army is to build their NCO corps,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Bobby Moore, the top enlisted soldier for the Iraq Assistance Group. “We want to show how important it is for them to succeed and for them to have a good NCO corps.”

It’s important for the Iraqis to see American NCOs interacting with their soldiers, Moore said.

“It shows what a professional NCO corps brings to the fight,” he said.

Pittard, who spent time talking with Jabbar and Col. Ali, the commander of 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, after the graduation ceremony, agreed.

“This is very encouraging,” he said.

Qualified scarce

The 2-15’s NCO program takes place once every two months, and each class has about 25 students.

One challenge is finding qualified soldiers to attend the course, Grinston said.

“Some soldiers can’t read and write,” he said.

The students must be able to read manuals and take written exams during the program. Typically, of the 25 or so soldiers who show up for the program, 16 to 20 will graduate, Grinston said.

Only about 30 percent of the NCO slots are filled in the Iraqi brigade, which is authorized about 3,800 soldiers.

The Iraqi army relies heavily on its officers and some of them feel they’re relinquishing power when they rely on NCOs for certain duties, Grinston said.

“It’s kind of like they want to be the focal point for everything,” he said. “That’s one of our challenges, getting the officers to believe in the NCO corps.”

The 4/6 is blessed because Ali, the brigade commander, is supportive of the program, and has plans to build a new classroom for the soldiers to use. They now use a tent at the Iraqi Army Compound.

Sgt. 1st Class John Lindsey, the 2-15’s master gunner and the key American adviser for the NCO course, said he wants to see the enlisted Iraqi soldiers take on more responsibility.

“They’re learning techniques, leadership skills,” Lindsey said. “I think some of them will be able to lead their soldiers when they get back to their units. I’m hoping … their commanders will allow them to use their skills, and they’ll continue the course after we leave.”

Grinston said he expects the battalion to continue the program.

“A realistic goal is in six months, I want to see a professional set of instructors that are dedicated to this,” he said. “When we leave if they’ve bought off on this, this will be something they do as a brigade in the Iraqi army, not something 2/10 wants them to do.”

The key to success is figuring out what works best for the Iraqi army, Ciotola said.

“They won’t be the American Army, and they don’t need to be the American Army,” he said. “They just need to be this much better than the bad guys.”

See Multimedia:

Iraqi NCO course, Mahmudiyah