Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Hunt, operations noncommissioned officer with the Border Transition Team, native of Lumberton, N.C., trains members of the Iraqi Coast Border Guard in tactical formations, near al-Faw, Iraq, Jan. 20. Senior CBG leaders worked with the U.S. Army BTT to create a curriculum of classes needed to enhance the capabilities of the CBG.
AL-FAW, Iraq –Iraqi Coast Border Guard and U.S. Army Border Transition Team members met in the flat desert outside of al-Faw, Iraq, to train in various tactical and medical skills, Jan. 19.
In the shadow of the castle-like CBG Company One post, CBG and BTT troops conducted training in operational tasks ranging from first aid to setting up an ambush, tactical formations, room and vehicle clearing, and search-and-seizure techniques.
Sgt. 1st Class Adam Ritter, operations noncommissioned officer for the BTT, taught the CBG how to use four-man teams to clear rooms. Using a “glass house” – a “room” marked off with lines on the ground – the team would huddle up along a “wall” at the entrance to the room, and enter rapidly, clearing the room of threats.
“They learn hands-on,” said the Hattiesburg, Miss., native.
The course, which teaches a technique also taught to U.S. Soldiers, is mostly a practical exercise, beginning with a walk-through and ending with faster runs into the “glass”’ room.
The training not only gave the lower-ranking Iraqi CBG a chance to learn important tasks, but it also gave CBG leaders the opportunity to train their troops.
“They learn from us and we also have their NCO’s doing training,” he said, “They’ve already started training their own guys.”
The senior CBG and BTT leaders met the month prior to determine the curriculum for the training day.
“We met with the leadership to see what they wanted,” Ritter said.
The Soldiers then made the 125-kilometer journey to the al-Faw Pennisula to conduct around three hours of training.
The BTT has been working with the CBG, comprised of four “boat groups” and one land-based battalion, for six months.
The CBG patrols the land, from al-Faw to Basrah, and Iraq’s coastal border along the Shat al-Arab, which marks the boundary with Iran.
The land battalion also maintains check points and conducts vehicle searches on Iran-Iraq and Kuwait-Iraq borders, Ritter said.
