- Title: IRAQ: GRADUATION CEREMONY OF 711 ARMY SQUAD LEADERS AT THEIR BASE IN KIRKUSH.
- Date: 5th August 2004
- Summary: (W1) KIRKUSH, IRAQ (AUGUST 5, 2004) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. WS: OF IRAQI SOLDIERS TRAINING. 0.13 2. MV: OFFICERS WATCHING. 0.17 3. MV: IRAQI SOLDER LOADING GUN. 0.24 4. WS: INSTUCTOR ADDRESSING SOLDIERS. 0.30 5. WS/CU: OF IRAQI SOLDIERS SEATED ON FLOOR. (2 SHOTS) 0.41 6. SCU: SOUNDIBTE (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED IRAQI SOLDIER: "I am happy that I'm in the Iraqi army to defend Iraq and to fight the terrorists who came from outside Iraq. They entered Iraq because the border was open in the past so they could come inside. That's why I want to fight them" 1.05 7. VARIOUS: OF IRAQI SOLDIERS MARCHING ON PARADE AT GRADUATION CEREMONY. (3 SHOTS) 1.31 8. MV: U.S. SOLDIERS WATCHING. 1.38 9. WS/MV: OF GRADUATION CEREMONY, CHIEF OF IRAQI ARMY SALTUING AND GREETING SOLDIERS. (2 SHOTS) 1.55 10. WS/MV: IRAQI SOLDIERS SWEARING TO SERVE IRAQ. (2 SHOTS) 2.06 11. WS: SENIOR IRAQI SOLDIER TAKES SALUTE. 2.12 12. VARIOUS: OF IRAQI SOLDIERS MARCHING. (3 SHOTS) 2.28 13. WS: BRIGADIER GENERAL GENERAL JAMES SCHWITTERS, COMMANDER OF THE COALITION'S IRAQI ARMY TRAINING PROGRAMME SITTING WITH SENIOR IRAQI SOLDIERS AT CEREMONY. 2.32 14. CU/LAS: MORE OF SOLDIERS MARCHING. (2 SHOTS) 2.50 15. SCU: SOUNDBITE (English) BRIGADIER GENERAL GENERAL JAMES SCHWITTERS, COMMANDER OF THE COALITION'S IRAQI ARMY TRAINING PROGRAMME "There's two primary motivations: certainly have an effective job but I think a common theme - certainly is common to the ones that I've talked to personally as well as the reports I give - and that's to contribute to a secure Iraq. And what is striking is that they understand that this is a new army. This is not an army designed to prop up a goverment but to serve the people" 3.19 16. WS: SENIOR IRAQI SOLDIERS AND FLAGS. 3.22 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 20th August 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: KIRKUSH, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA6JEL41XICBE9TRLPSQJ40LN60
- Story Text: 711 Iraqi army squad leaders graduate from base in
Kirkush.
As the 711 Iraqi army squad leaders stood at
attention before graduating in this desert base near the
Iranian border on Thursday (August 5), the symbolism was
plain to see.
No American flag fluttered next to the Iraqi national
colours. The visiting U.S. general made no speech. Instead,
an Iraqi officer saluted the graduates and called them the
"bricks in a wall that will defend Iraq from its enemies".
In line with handing power to an interim government on
June 28, the U.S.-led occupiers transferred to Iraq much of
the
responsibility for training its fledgling security forces.
At the Kirkush army base in the country's east, Iraqi
soldiers now put new recruits through drills, teach them
how to fire weapons and battle insurgents who attack Iraqi
security forces just as much as U.S.-led coalition troops
in the country.
"There's two primary motivations: certainly have an
effective job but I think a common theme .............
that's to contribute to a secure Iraq. And what is striking
is that they understand that this is a new army. This is
not an army designed to prop up a goverment but to serve
the people," said Brigadier General James Schwitters,
commander of the coalition's Iraqi army training programme.
Building a sizeable, fully equipped army, however, will
take time, something Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has
precious little of.
Iraq holds landmark elections in January, and its
security forces will have to play a key role in reducing
car bombings and
assassinations to ensure the vote is not disrupted.
The United States abolished Iraq's 400,000 strong army
in May last year, one month after ousting Saddam Hussein. Some
critics say that helped fuel the insurgency by creating a
large pool of disaffected men.
The new army stands at just over 3,000 trained troops.
The target is 27 battalions, or some 20,000 soldiers, by
January.
After graduating from the squad leaders' course on
Thursday, the 711 non-commissioned officers will eventually
deploy to
those battalions and take on many training duties
themselves.
While the tendency has been to rush police and National
Guardsmen onto Iraq's dangerous streets with minimal
training --
those forces number roughly 84,000 and 40,000, respectively
-- more time is being spent preparing the army.
Soldiers get eight weeks of basic training, compared to
two to three weeks for National Guardsmen.
But there is still a long way to go.
When they pledged loyalty to Iraq on Thursday, the
non-commissioned officers swore to fight any enemy.
Asked who that enemy was, new recruits undergoing
weapons training nearby said it was only foreigners, not
Iraqis.
"I am happy that I'm in the Iraqi army to defend Iraq
and to fight the terrorists who came from outside Iraq.
They entered Iraq because the border was open in the past
so they could come inside. That's why I want to fight
them," one solder said.
That presents a problem for officers who have to
convince recruits that Iraqis are part of the insurgency,
even if the
spectacular attacks are often blamed on foreign militants.
There have also been some setbacks.
Some Iraqi soldiers refused to join operations in
Falluja when U.S. Marines laid siege to the rebellious city
in April.
Under Saddam, soldiers were often cannon fodder,
ordered into bloody wars such as the Iran-Iraq conflict in
the 1980s.
U.S. officers and Iraqi trainers said they wanted to
ensure there was no repeat of past excesses.
Around 100 coalition advisers offer guidance in
Kirkush, one of the main bases for training the Iraqi army,
although those
numbers will drop in the coming months.
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