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Troops taught to enter into minds of Iraqi insurgents
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| 03 May 2005 |
Troops taught to enter into minds of Iraqi insurgents
By Joshua Kucera JDW Staff Reporter
Fort Irwin, California
In the 1980s, the US Army's National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, was known as the home of the best Soviet main battle tank (MBT) unit in the world - the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR), a US unit that trained in Soviet tactics and equipment and engaged regular army units in major tank battle exercises.
However, the T-72 MBTs and BMP infantry combat vehicles of the 11th ACR now lie dormant and the focus is instead on nine villages that have been constructed at the NTC. About 250 Iraqi-Americans live there to give US soldiers - who may have never before met an Arab - a taste of the language and culture before they deploy.
Troops have now started to spend as much time practising how to engage and negotiate with 'local' Arab officials as they do on warfighting skills.
"The biggest thing, in my mind, is the importance of cultural training," NTC Commander Brigadier General Robert Cone told JDW. "This adversary has determined that our great strength is stand-off, so what he's done is draw us into this close fight where we can't tell friend from foe."
To keep up with an enemy whose tactics change quickly, the NTC has a variety of ways to stay up to date on what's going on in Iraq. Almost half the NTC's trainers have served in Iraq. NTC staff stay in touch with commanders in the field and read regular situation reports on the military's secure internet.
The NTC is reaching even further in its quest for authenticity. Gen Cone said he is talking with Titan Corporation - which contracts the Iraqi-Americans who work at the NTC - about getting a captured Saddam Hussein regime loyalist or insurgent into the NTC to get more accurate insurgent thinking.
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