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Blackanthem Military News
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Last Updated:
Sep 6, 2008 - 11:54:07 AM |
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50 Iraqi soldiers graduate Commando Course
By Maj. Jason Waggoner, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
Dec 15, 2007 - 11:11:35 AM
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Blackanthem Military News
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| Graduates of the Commando Course demonstrate combatives during the graduation program Dec. 13 in Mahmuidyah. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Jason Waggoner, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) |
CAMP STRIKER, Iraq - The Iraqi Army has 50 new Commandos to add to its rolls in the Rakkasan operational area.
The 50 soldiers graduated Dec. 13 from the Iraqi Army’s Commando Course in a ceremony held at the Iraqi Army compound in Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad.
The ceremony was attended by 4th Brigade, 6 Iraqi Army Division Commander Brig. Gen. Ali, commanding general of the Iraq Assistance Group Brig. Gen. James Yarbrough, Col. Dominic Caraccilo commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and Lt. Col. William Zemp, commander of 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT).
First Sgt. Edward Tushar, from Cleveland, Ohio, said of the graduates, "I equate them to kind of like our Rangers. They are a little above the regular Iraqi Army soldier. They are trained a little more in depth as far as actions they have to do on the battlefield."
The ceremony consisted of a presentation of graduation certificates and the awarding of the coveted Commando tab. Following this indoor ceremony, the students conducted a skills demonstration similar to the Rangers in Action demonstration following the U.S. Army Ranger School graduation.
The 23-day course focuses on small-unit infantry fundamentals. It includes land navigation, marksmanship fundamentals and close-quarter marksmanship, close-quarters combat, fundamentals of patrolling, combat lifesaver skills, rappelling and fast-rope training, as well as the basics of air assault operations.
The course started with 156 soldiers; most fell out during the physical fitness testing and the obstacle course.
The training is facilitated by HHB, 3-320th FA, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT). The Red Knight Rakkasans use three noncommissioned officers to assist the seven Iraqi Army NCOs. The IA instructors provide a majority of the instruction with the American NCOs in an overwatch mode. The plan is to transition all of the instruction to the IA with the next class.
"A lot of these guys are going to go back to their units, take the training that they learned here and help their fellow soldiers out to make better soldiers in the battalions," said Sgt. 1st Class James Jorgensen, from Chicago, senior instructor.
Graduates are either returned to their original units or are assigned to the Commando Company currently assisting the Red Knights with operations in the Mahmudiyah area.
"The Commando Company will be able to do a lot more patrols on their own, enter and clear houses on their own and help keep AQI (al-Qaeda in Iraq) out of our area." Jorgensen said. "They are able to support themselves."
This was the fifth Commando class and the first one facilitated by the Red Knights.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| An Iraqi Army soldier rappels during the Commando Course graduation Dec. 13 in Mahmudiyah. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Jason Waggoner, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) |
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| Iraqi Army soldiers navigate the weaver as part of the Commando Course graduation Dec. 13 in Mahmudiyah. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Jason Waggoner, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) |
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| Graduates of the 23-day Commando Course earn the coveted Commando tab. The training focuses on small-unit infantry fundamentals. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Jason Waggoner, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) |
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