KARKH DISTRICT — After eight weeks of intense training, Iraqi Army Soldiers finally graduate from the first ever mechanics course, Dec. 30. More than 150 Soldiers now possess valuable knowledge in vehicle maintenance which will greatly help them with their mission.
The training encompassed the basics repair of engines, clutches, manual and automatic transmissions, differential gear, two-and-four-wheel drive vehicles, brakes systems, mechanical and hydraulic steering mechanisms, cooling systems and basically everything else on the vehicle, said Eugene Koster, contractor of Fiafi Group and senior trainer at the training center. From the theoretical to in-depth, practical training, the Soldiers received clear and specific instructions of the workings of the vehicle.
“Before I got here, I had little knowledge about mechanics and the car’s parts,” said Iraqi Army Spc. Mohamed Kadr Godeap. “After the completion of the course, my understanding of how the parts of the car work improved.”
This is another step in the right direction for Iraq. The Iraqi Army needs mechanics, cooks, troops, trainers, clerks. They need to be hired and trained and supervised and fed and housed. And it is happening in Iraq.
Undertakings like this are huge, costly, time-consuming. A successful mechanics program isn't as exciting as the Iraqi Army graduating a new brigade or the Iraqi air force getting new aircraft. But it's one little step of thousands of steps that have to happen for Iraq to become stable and secure. You'd think McClatchy would want to inform readers about developments like this, right? Not going to happen under McClatchy's current leadership. Baghdad bureau chief Leila Fadel says her focus is on the Iraqis who have been victimized by the war and by the Americans. See similar thoughts yesterday here.
