By Sgt. Jerome Bishop
2nd SBCT PAO, 25th Inf. Div., MND-B

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers take to the roads daily around Camp Taji, northwest of Baghdad, to search for improvised-explosive devices to ensure the safety of Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces and the people of Iraq.

The Soldiers from the 66th Engineer Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, MND-B, who conduct route-clearance missions, took steps April 5 and 6 to teach their Iraqi Army counterparts what it takes to make their own roads safe.

"We're incorporating the Iraqi engineers into our engineers, and we're showing them the basics of what we do on a route-clearance mission on a dismounted level," said 1st Sgt. Jonathon White, a San Francisco, native, who serves with the 66th Eng. Co. "We're responsible for the route-clearance mission for the entire (2nd SBCT, 25th Inf. Div.), so our goal is to integrate the Iraqi Army into our route-clearance packages and have them take part in our route-clearance operations."

The end goal is to train the IA soldiers to assume full control of route clearance, White added.

The two-day course, which incorporated 10 IA engineers, taught the basics of route-clearing operations, with the end goal of having the ISF join MND-B engineers on the roads during missions.

 "We took the engineer's from the IA and brought them out here to a training site and showed them ways to identify specific types of IEDs and indicators that surround them," said Sgt. John Yost, a Greeley, Colo., native, who serves as a team leader with the 66th Eng. Co. and a course instructor.

Iraqi soldiers also learned how to determine the location of IEDs based on changes in the environment and how to property react when one is found.

The crucial instrument of the training was its in-depth physical atmosphere. Soldiers from the 66th Eng. Co. took available land and resources to construct the training area, not far from their company headquarters, using resources at their disposal to build mock IEDs and hostile environments, said White.

"To put this package together, (we used) just resources we had internal to us and a good piece of ground. This isn't a Powerpoint type of training device; this is hands-on, hands-in-the-dirt, teaching them the grind of what it takes to be successful," he added.

Getting the space and tools together to conduct training on such a level was merely one of many obstacles the Soldiers would have to overcome to conduct the training.

"We train a lot so when we go live it’s exciting," said Olympia Washington native Pfc. Tyler Hughes, Battery B, 2nd Bn.,11th FA Regt.
Hughes, who assists in ramming the round and checking the bore, said he felt "pretty good and excited" to be apart of this historical event.

"The language barrier is a little difficult, but once they grasp the concept, they're hungry to learn and they want more; it's a little disappointing we can only train one group for two days," said Yost.

While the Iraqi engineers only had two days to learn and practice proper dismounted route-clearance procedures, the simple notion of participating in the training was more than enough to get the soldiers of Iraq on the right path toward conducting their own missions down the road.

"We're showing progression. As long as we're taking one step forward, that's a step in the right direction. It's all about the small steps, and small steps lead to bigger steps, and this is one small step toward progression," said White.

The Iraqi soldiers want to achieve their goal of completing the training, and the Soldiers from the 66th Eng. Co. provided them the opportunity to take a huge step forward with the training. As soldiers, they have to learn and they have to achieve their goal, said Sgt. Kassim Obaid, the group noncommissioned officer of the Iraqi Army soldiers, through an interpreter.

While the Soldiers conducting route-clearance operations in support of the 2nd SBCT, 25th Inf. Div., are currently all U.S. Army Soldiers, training exercises such as the one set up by the Soldiers of the 66th Eng. Co. will open the door for the IA engineers to tackle the challenge of overcoming the deadly threat of roadside bombs.