Right, Iraqi army officers and NCOs receive instruc- tion on newly is- sued M16 rifles and M4 carbines during a train-the- trainer course conducted at the Besmaya Range Complex. Iraqi army units that are swapping their AK-series ri- fles for M16s and M4s are being as- sisted in the tran- sition by the Multi-National Se- curity Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I). An Iraqi NCO trains soldiers in room- clearing techniques at Besmaya’s mili- tary operations in urban terrain (MOUT) live-fire range. 16 ARMY I February 2008 Text and Photographs By Dennis Steele Senior Staff Writer he Besmaya Range Complex is a sprawl- ing 230-square-kilo- meter training facility situated halfway be- tween Baghdad and the Iranian border, and currently it is a pri- mary launchpad for the second surge in Iraq—the Iraqi army’s surge. Recently, an Iraqi army brigade was spread around the complex’s 26 individual ranges, Iraqi soldiers qualify with M16s at one of Besmaya's state-of-the-art, automated ranges. February 2008 I ARMY 17 which are the best ranges in the Middle East and rival some U.S. training ranges, according to American offi- cials. Including the complex’s life-support facilities and specialty schools (the Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal school and combined arms school among them), the com- plex received approximately $100 million in upgrades or new construction over the past two years. It is called the National Training Center of Iraq. At Besmaya, a brigade performs final individual and collective training, lasting about a month. Newly minted Iraqi soldiers are sent there from basic training centers, link up with their leaders and form into small units while the staff receives its final training. The brigade receives its complement of new equipment—vehicles (approxi- mately 400) and weapons, which now includes swapping AK rifles for American M16s and receiving marksman- ship training for that weapon. Most of the Iraqi army is switching to the M16 and M4 carbine. After training, a brigade goes straight from Besmaya to the battlefield under an Iraqi program to field a continuing stream of better trained and more cohesive units to beef up its boots-on-the-ground presence in trouble spots a new brigade at a time, expanding overall capabilities and tak- Below left, an Iraqi soldier’s fingerprint is scanned while an- other soldier has his photograph taken with his new rifle (center) to ensure accountability of newly issued M16 rifles. Biometric scans are also taken of soldiers’ eyes, and all in- formation is connected with the weapon's serial number. 18 ARMY I February 2008 MPRI contractor Cordell Fairweather assists an Iraqi soldier during a train- the-trainers course at Besmaya. Ryan Collins, also from MPRI, demon- strates M16 disassembly. MNSTC-I monitors Iraqi government contracts with private-sector trainers. February 2008 I ARMY 19 Below, an Iraqi army warrant officer is- sues instructions at one of Besmaya’s 26 ranges. Right and bottom right, an Iraqi soldier goes through an explosive ordnance disposal training scenario in a protective suit at the Iraqi army’s bomb school, located at Besmaya. ing up slack for American brigade combat teams that will not be replaced under current U.S. troop-reduction plans. “These Iraqi soldiers are going to be in one of the most dangerous places on Earth in two weeks, eastern Sadr City, kicking in doors,” said Col. Darel Maxfield, MN- STC-I’s (Multi-National Security Transition Command- Iraq) officer in charge at Besmaya and an Army Reserve officer from the 104th Division (Institutional Training). “My job is to train myself out of a job by training the Iraqis to train themselves … but my personal belief is that at the very least I owe it to these Iraqi soldiers’ moth- ers to provide the best training and best training facili- ties I can,” he said. “We can’t make them perfect while they’re here, but we can make them better and give those mothers’ sons the best opportunity we can to survive.” Only about two dozen American military personnel MNSTC-I’s portfolio ranges from cook school to the are stationed at Besmaya along with about twice that Iraqi cabinet. It coaches and oversees standards for Iraqi number of U.S. contractor trainers from MPRI. The em- security forces’ institutional training—from basic train- phasis at Besmaya and throughout MNSTC-I now is to ing to the top Iraqi military service academies and staff train the trainers and give Iraqi personnel responsibility colleges—and it is responsible for advising and posi- for conducting most of the instruction. tively influencing Iraq’s ministries of defense and inte- 20 ARMY I February 2008 Above, an Iraqi soldier trains at Be- smaya’s MOUT range. Top center, American Humvees turned in at Camp Taji on a one-for-one basis for new mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles will be checked, re- paired and repainted for issue to Iraqi units. Right, refurbished MI-17 heli- copters are the foundation for the Iraqi air force’s rotary-wing fleet. Along with training Iraq’s national police and army, MNSTC-I is helping to establish the Iraqi air force and navy. rior in government-level policy making and funding processes required to build and sustain police and mili- tary security capabilities. Senior U.S. government execu- tives attached to MNSTC-I work alongside their Iraqi government counterparts. The command is an eclectic assembly of American civilians and military personnel from all services along with personnel from NATO nations and Australia. A class of Iraqi army bakers receives instruction at the Taji Regional Training Center. 22 ARMY I February 2008 Above, Air Force MSgt. Phillip Fourroux of the 370th Expeditionary Training Squadron, left, teaches firefighting techniques at the newly established Iraqi air force academy at the Taji Re- gional Training Center. The academy teaches a variety of specialties in addi- tion to educating Iraqi officers. Left, an Iraqi army mechanic learns Humvee re- pair at Taji. In short, if a strong and sustainable Iraqi security force is the United States’ ticket out of Iraq, MNSTC-I is the ticketmaster, and American advisers will likely be the last large contingent to get on the bus. The com- mand is important to successful American strategic policy, and it has picked up momentum with the com- pletion of new training facilities. Last autumn, vast attention was given to the Report SFC Shelly Alter, a central issue facility adviser at the Taji Regional Training Center, checks initial clothing issue during in-processing of Iraqi army recruits. February 2008 I ARMY 23 Air Force SSgt. John Dixon of the 370th Expedi- tionary Training Squadron directs a helicopter used for Iraqi pilot training. Left, MSgt. David Schorzman, serving with MNSTC-I’s Taji Regional Support Unit as the Class V (ammunition) ad- viser NCO in charge at the Taji National Depot, checks the performance of his Iraqi army counterpart. The Taji Na- tional Depot is the central logistics fa- cility for the Iraqi army. Bottom, CWO 5 Doug Wyborney, from the 134th Secu- rity and Surveillance Battalion, serves as a MNSTC-I UH-1 (Huey) helicopter instructor pilot for the Iraqi air force. of the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq—commonly referred to as the Jones Report for its chairman, Gen. James L. Jones, USMC Ret.—which re- ported a mixed grade on Iraq’s security forces’ state to Congress. The Jones Report was viewed as an objective baseline snapshot by the current MNSTC-I commander, Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik. “The report was hugely useful to me because it was current,” Gen. Dubik said. “From beginning to end [in- formation collection to published report] it took only six weeks. The flash-to-bang time was near zero.” He said there has been progress in the months since the report was issued. Regarding the Iraqi national police force, which received the most negative findings in the report, Gen. Dubik said that most of the national police 24 ARMY I February 2008 First Lt. Jacob Barker, the Taji Regional Support Unit Class V ad- viser officer in charge, checks an incoming ship- ment of AK rifles along with an Iraqi soldier at the Taji National De- pot. The AKs were turned in for M16s and will be stored at the depot. Sgt. Adam Wright, an automotive mechanic instruc- tor at the Taji Re- gional Training Center, checks progress as Iraqi soldiers repair a Humvee. leadership has been replaced, including all brigade com- manders and most battalion commanders, and that lead- ership development training by the Italian Carabinieri has started and will continue for more than two years. Meanwhile, all national police formations have since been rotated through formal replenishment training. Gen. Dubik added that it is significant to note that Iraqi confidence in their police has risen about 18 per- cent in polls taken since the Jones Report was issued. He said the trend is headed in the right direction. Gen. Dubik also said that many of the self-sufficiency shortfalls noted in the report regarding life support, lo- gistics and maintenance have begun to be addressed by the Iraqi government, but it will still take at least a year to establish an independent maintenance system and about the same time to fix the logistics system. “I define progress, however, as continuing to face new problem sets,” Gen. Dubik explained. “If you’re facing a Spc. Matthew Burke, a central issue facility ad- viser at Taji, mon- itors Iraqi army uniform issue. 26 ARMY I February 2008 Right, Iraqi national police recruits change into their uni- forms at the Numiniyah Re- gional Training Center’s national police training center.