Global Special Operations |
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Global Special Operations |
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Iraqi Armed Forces’ high-end strike force resembling U.S. Special Forces units, continues training and operations in the country with multinational force assistance. Consisting of two trained battalions, including the 36th Commando Battalion, an infantry-type strike force, and the Iraqi Counter-terrorism Battalion, the force has been involved in many operations throughout the country including places like Najaf and Samarra, fighting anti- Iraqi forces with great distinction while continuing the stand-up effort of the unit. The force will add a third support battalion to its ranks in the coming months. Training is conducted at an undisclosed location. "A lot these guys do come from former Iraqi Special Ops," a Special Forces multinational advisor said of the ultra- secretive force. "They are highly vetted before every selection and they operate throughout the country." Selection for the force begins in the Iraqi National Guard and Iraqi army units already operating in the country, much like typical multinational Special Forces’ recruiting efforts in their own countries. Outstanding recruits successfully negotiating the vetting process, including exhaustive background checks, skill evaluations, and unit evaluations along with literacy, psychological, and physical tests, are run through various team-building and physical events meant to lean down the recruit pool. The selection process runs roughly 10 to 14 days. And while the counter-terrorist battalion was completely built upon individual applicants from the ground up, the 36th Commandos genesis actually began with the identification of a particular Iraqi National Guard battalion which fought with particular distinction in Fallujah, in recent months, and other places. "They are very, very effective," the multinational advisor reported. "They exercise extreme discipline and are totally mission focused." "And they have taken minimal losses," the advisor said, indicating that to his knowledge the unit had suffered only a single fatality in action thus far. "They’re fully capable," he said. And training efforts continue to improve their efficiency as the units work through typical Special Forces training normally consisting of intense physical training, land navigation, small-unit tactics, live- fire, unconventional warfare operations, direct action operations, airmobile operations, counter-terrorism and survival, evasion, resistance, and escape training. Special Forces soldiers are an army’s unconventional warfare experts, possessing a broad range of operational skills. Soldiers in the unit routinely negotiate "live-fire" building-clearing exercises involving helicopter rooftop insertions and quick ground assault strikes on buildings and other typical operational scenarios. The advisor said that what the Iraqis are looking for are individuals with a particular mental toughness and aptitude with team-play attributes, a recruiting mission with which the Iraqi Ministry of Defense still leans heavily on multinational advisors’ expertise for. "The intent, though, is for them to be fully operational without any [multinational] assistance," the advisor said. "But right now, there is no ‘final’ stand-up date." "We don’t want to rush the unit to failure," he added. "You see all these guys?" an Iraqi Special Operations Force soldier from the unit asked. "They want to do great things. We are not scared." "God gave the life," he said, 'And God take the life away." The unit was formed based on a conversation between the Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and multinational force personnel to give the Iraqi Armed Forces a high-end strike force in its ongoing security mission against anti-Iraqi forces operating in the country. Advisor and soldier identities have been retained for operational security reasons. Source:U. S. Central Command
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