Army works to lure trainers for Iraqi forces

[unhappycamper]

Army works to lure trainers for Iraqi forces
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 24, 2007 19:04:18 EDT

FORT RILEY, Kan. — Army Capt. Matthew Foster, like many of his fellow officers, wasn’t thrilled to hear he’d been assigned to a training team destined for Iraq to work with national police there.

The job — a growing military need as U.S. forces try to prepare the Iraqis to secure their own country — is considered by many in the U.S. ranks as high risk, with little reward. At the same time, commanders at Fort Riley said that as the demand for more trainers increases in Iraq and Afghanistan, they will be able to quickly ramp up their schooling and send even more solders over as advisers.

Still, they — as well as Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — said Wednesday that they understand that many soldiers are not sold on the program. And they said they are working now to ensure that troops who serve on training teams get the rewards and promotions needed to make the assignment more attractive.

“I was told to come here,” said Foster, who had lined up with his teammates to talk to Mullen as he toured the training facilities as part of his two-day visit to Army bases in Oklahoma and Kansas. “I had no choice at all. I wasn’t happy.”

He said his initial reservations were eventually overcome. But they echo concerns expressed Tuesday by several captains at Fort Sill, Okla., who also attended a session with Mullen. Two of the captains, who both have served two war tours, said a key quest of many colleagues going through officer training at Fort Sill is how to avoid getting on one of the Military Transition Teams.

Leaders at Fort Riley said they are vividly aware of soldiers’ reluctance to take on the difficult and often dangerous job of embedding with an Iraqi unit and working as an adviser and trainer to teach them the skills they need.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/ap_trainers_071024/



uhc comment: Great headline, guys. :thumbsup: