The Worst Idea Ever Posted by Shawn Brimley

So I was trying to enjoy my weekend and the great weather in DC (since we'll get about 5 days of fabulous weather before five months of 90+ degrees and humidity that will sap your soul), until I saw a piece by Walter Pincus with the following headline: "U.S. Seeks Contractors To Train Iraqi Military."

I couldn't believe what I was reading!

'U.S. commanders in Iraq are for the first time seeking private contractors to form part of the small military teams that train and live with Iraqi military units across the country, according to a notice for prospective bidders published last week.

The solicitation, issued by the Joint Contracting Command in Baghdad, says the individuals that a contractor recruits -- who would include former members of the U.S. Special Forces and ex-Iraqi army officers -- will be trained in the United States with military transition teams (MiTTs) and shipped as a single team to Iraq. The recruits will live on Iraqi military bases "under Iraqi living conditions and participate with MiTT special operations and convoy duties," the solicitation says.

Thus far, the MiTTs have consisted of specially trained teams of about 10 to 12 U.S. soldiers led by a field-grade officer that were embedded with Iraqi army units from the division level down to the battalion level. The MiTTs have included officers and noncommissioned officers from different service branches tasked with teaching and mentoring their Iraqi counterparts to make them self-sufficient."

So let me get this straight. American strategy in Iraq depends on us being able to transition into a so-called "overwatch" posture in which our presence will consist mostly of a robust training and advising presence. Such a posture depends on the success of these so-called MiTTs… so… we are going to get contractors to fill slots on these teams?

I mean, you can't make this stuff up! Who thought it was a good idea to outsource our exit strategy to Blackwater!?!

If true, this idea could very well be one of the worst of the war! And that, my friends, makes this a pretty darn bad idea in my book.

Dr. iRack over at Abu Muqawama has good detail.

Comments

[Mike M.]

Actually, I think Michael Cohen might differ with you on this one. He's been calling for expanded roles for military contractors.

[Don Bacon]

And here I thought that the Iraqi Army was already trained by General Petraeus. Yes, here it is -- I found my notes. General Petraeus wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in September 2004, let's see, if memory serves that would have been just prior to the last presidential election. What a coincidence! It said: “Six battalions of the Iraqi regular army and the Iraqi Intervention Force are now conducting operations. . .Within the next 60 days, six more regular army and six additional Intervention Force battalions will become operational. . . Nine more regular army battalions will complete training in January”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49283-2004Sep25.html

Damn, that was over three years ago, and they still need more training? I know basic training seems like it can go on forever, but this is ridiculous. Maybe there are some recently retired or separated US army officers that want to get a huge contract for doing not much, you think? Like that $319 million contract recently awarded for Iraqi role-players to talk to the Marines at 29 Palms in California? Sounds like a racket to me. "The Joint Contracting Command in Baghdad" -- I bet they're a bunch of crooks in uniform with hundreds of millions of dollars to play with.

Think money -- you'll seldom be wrong.

[John Bozeman]

Actually, you should have kept reading. The article is more about the shortage of personnel in the Army, than about the feasiblity of outsourcing the transition team jobs. The Army needs to help itself before it can help others.

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