Absenteeism has significantly declined in
the Iraqi security forces.
A U.S. Defense Department report said absenteeism in the Iraqi military
dropped to an average of between one and four percent. The Pentagon
report, however, said the absenteeism rate could rise during combat
operations.
The Iraq Army has drafted a policy to drop absentee soldiers from the
rolls within a week, Middle East Newsline reported. These soldiers have also been banned from rejoining the
military.
"Absenteeism in the Iraqi military is dependent upon where a unit falls
in its training and employment life cycle," the report said. "During
individual and collective training, some recruits determine that the life of
a soldier is not for them and leave, while others fail to meet training
course standards and are dismissed."
Entitled "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq," the report said the
attrition rate for Iraqi soldiers during initial training could reach 15
percent. The report said Iraqi soldiers could leave after training if they
either reject their assignment location or become frightened by insurgency
attacks.
"Although deployments to combat sometimes cause absentee spikes of five
percent to eight percent, soldiers in units in this final stage of
development are unlikely to leave the service," the Pentagon report to
Congress said. "Absent without leave [AWOL] rates are typically about one to
four percent for most divisions."
The report said the Iraqi military has been preparing to assume command
and control responsibilities at the division level. The Iraqi Army has been
in the lead for planning and executing counter-insurgency operations in one
Iraqi province that is roughly the size of the U.S. state of New Jersey.
The military was also assigned the lead for 87 square miles in Baghdad
and over 450 square miles of battle space in the other Iraqi provinces, the
report said. At the same time, the report said Iraqi security forces have
displayed greater combat skills and discipline.
"As more and more ISF are generated, absenteeism has become less of a
problem," the report said.
