Joint Military Seminar Held In Baghdad

Joint military seminar held in Baghdad
Media Newswire
Black Anthem Military News
By 1st Lt. Brian Cooke, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery
Jun 28, 2007

BAGHDAD - Battalion leadership from the U.S. and Iraqi armies held a leadership seminar focusing on joint operations and battle staff operations June 23 and 24.

Senior leaders from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, the "Falcon" battalion, visited Camp Liberty to meet with the senior leaders of Task Force Patriot, the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery.

The two battalions are partner units operating in the western Baghdad neighborhoods of Hateen and Yarmouk. Falcon and Patriot battalions patrol together on a daily basis and the senior leaders from both battalions have been meeting weekly since April to discuss operations at Joint Security Station Torch in Yarmouk. However, this was the first chance for the Iraqi leaders to observe the Patriot headquarters in action.

Col. Ali Al-Obaydi, commander of 2/5/6 IA, brought with him his executive and operations officers, and his top noncommissioned officer.

The 2-32 FA's executive officer, Maj. Jim MacGregor, led the formal portion of the seminar, briefing the Iraqi leaders on the composition and function of the Patriot staff. MacGregor focused on the staff's planning and targeting process, highlighting how the process supports the battalion commander's ability to make timely and informed decisions.

Once the formal briefing was over, Ali and Lt. Col. Mike Lawson, the Task Force Patriot commander, led an open discussion on the major challenges facing the units in their mission.

Lawson then took the Iraqis on a tour of the Task Force Patriot Tactical Operations Center. The tour gave the Iraqis a chance to see the way in which the battle staff tracks the battalion's operations and how the staff integrates all of its digital assets to provide an accurate picture of the battlefield to the commander.

"We're all soldiers, regardless of the flags we wear on our uniforms," said Lawson. "We're working together day-in and day-out to defeat a common enemy, and today was simply a great opportunity to remind ourselves why we're here in the first place."