American Trainers In Iraq See An Army In Disrepair

New York Times: U.S. Soldiers, Back in Iraq, Find Security Forces in Disrepair

CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Lt. Col. John Schwemmer is here for his sixth Iraq deployment. Maj. James Moblin is on his fourth. Sgt. Maj. Thomas Foos? “It’s so many, I would rather not say. Sir.”

These soldiers are among 300 from the 5-37 Squadron of the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army, about half of them trainers, the rest support and force protection. Stationed at this old Iraqi military base 20 miles north of Baghdad, they are as close as it gets to American boots on the ground in Iraq.

Back now for the first time since the United States left in 2011, none of them thought they would be here again, let alone return to find the Iraqi Army they had once trained in such disrepair.

Colonel Schwemmer was stunned at the state in which he found the Iraqi soldiers when he arrived here. “It’s pretty incredible,” he said. “I was kind of surprised. What training did they have after we left?”

WNU Editor: For the U.S. trainers .... especially those who have experienced multiple deployments to Iraq in the past .... this must be a shock to them. To see all that time, energy, and money go to waste .... and now to be back doing essentially the same thing all over again .... it must leave a bad taste in one's mouth.