Officials said the U.S. training mission, led by the Army's Bushmasters,
has been approved and coordinated by the central government in Baghdad. They
said Kurds were being prepared for border and other security missions.
In January, Kurdish officers from the 4th Battalion conducted their
final training exercise in the northern town of Laylan. The exercise, based
at Kurdish brigade headquarters, focused on platoon operations, with the
unit divided into three squads.
"The Bushmasters created the training program, consisting of both
classroom and hands-on instruction to teach officers basic skills such as
movement formations and techniques; how to create and execute operations
orders; military operations in urban environments; direct fire control
measures; and squad and platoon-level drills," a U.S. military statement
said.
In December 2010, the U.S. military established the training program to
teach Peshmerga officers to relay basic soldiering
skills. Officials said the course envisioned the emergence of a core of
Kurdish trainers at the level of platoon and company.
"While there are still some minor things we can improve on throughout
the training, the officers have become better and faster in combat areas,
and have gained a better understanding of what their role is and what they
are doing," Jamil, whose full name was not given, said.
ShareThis
