U.S. troops that once trained Iraqi forces prior to 2011 are stunned at the decline in readiness that has occurred in a few short years.
The New York Times spoke with soldiers from the 5-73 Squadron of the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army, who were at a loss for words to describe the erosion of skills suffered by Iraqi security forces.
“It’s pretty incredible. I was kind of surprised. What training did they have after we left?” asked Lt. Col. John Schwemmer, The Times reported Tuesday. The officer is in Iraq for his sixth deployment.
“They had it, they really did. I don’t know what happened after that,” Maj. James Modlin added, the newspaper reported. Maj. Modlin is in Iraq for his fourth deployment.
The deterioration in Iraq’s security forces is largely blamed on corruption. In the absence of U.S. troops, Iraqi officers squandered the discipline instilled in the lower ranks by “buying their own commissions [and] paying for them out of the supply, food and payroll money of their troops,” the newspaper reported.
Iraq’s army, once counted at 280,000 active-duty personnel, now is estimated at roughly 50,000 troops in fully-active divisions.
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“The Iraqis know that this time we’re not going to do it for them, and they appreciate that,” Maj. Modlin told The Times.
U.S. instructors hope to train 30,000 Iraqi soldiers by the end of this year, the newspaper reported.
“They’re going to leave here trained. But there’s a big difference between trained and seasoned,” Col Schwemmer told The Times.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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