U.S. urban warfare training could be moving from Ft. Polk to Israel
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has been weighing the option of
sending elite forces to train in an Israeli urban warfare center.
Officials said military commanders have toured Israel's new National
Urban Training Center. The center, located in the southern Negev Desert,
contains a mock Arab village for counter-insurgency exercises, Middle East Newsline reported.
So far, U.S. Army and Marine Corps forces have been training at the MOUT
facility at Fort Polk, La., which contains a mock Arab village. The National
Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. has also been used for training in a
Middle East environment.
"I'd like to see soldiers go through a facility like this somewhere
before they deploy to counter-insurgency missions abroad," National Guard
commander Lt. Gen. Steven Blum said.
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Blum visited the Israeli military training center in late 2007 as part
of cooperation between the United States and the Jewish state. The general
said the National Guard was seeking facilities that reflected a Middle East
environment.
"You get the advantage of the identical climate, the same geography,
topography," Blum said. "You have the benefit of being in the environment.
Yet, you're totally secure and you're able to train."
The Israeli military completed its training facility more than a year
ago. Officials said Israel has offered the facility for training by the U.S.
and other militaries.
But officials said the U.S. military, pressed to sustain operations in
Afghanistan and Iraq, required additional facilities to train soldiers for
deployment in Muslim countries. The Israeli facility has been regarded as
one of the most modern in the world and could track and record training by
soldiers and commanders.
