America's North Shore Journal

Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team have made a positive impact on security and quality of life in Iraq’s Basra province, their commander said during a briefing from Iraq today. TRAINING THE IRAQIS Their impact can be attributed, in part, to successful training programs, Army Col. Butch Kievenaar said. “We started with an assessment of training proficiency for the Iraqi army, police and Department of Border Enforcement,” he said. “[That was] followed by a mutually agreed-upon training plan that focused on building sustainable capability.” Sustainable capability refers to building basic and realistic systems for training and logistics in the Iraqi security forces, Kievenaar said. This includes establishing and maintaining effective control nodes and basic reporting systems that will allow the Iraqi forces to sustain security and stay ahead of the … Read entire article »