U.S. urban warfare training could shift from Ft. Polk, La., to Israel
Friday, April 11, 2008 Free Headline Alerts
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.
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.
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.