CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq
Iraqi soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division received 24 High Mobility, Multi-wheeled Vehicles (Humvees) yesterday after graduating from a three-week Humvee licensing and preventive maintenance course. More than 20 enlisted soldiers were recognized in a formal graduation ceremony, where they received certificates of completion from the commanding general of the 2nd Brigade and the commanding officer of Regimental Combat Team 7, Col. W. Blake Crowe. The ceremony marked another milestone in the 2nd Brigade’s progress toward eventually relieving Coalition Forces in western Al Anbar Province of all security operations.The new Humvees will offer added protection for the soldiers on Iraq’s dangerous roads – a step up from the small, unarmored pick-up trucks they were using. “We get new vehicles to help us fight terrorism,” said one Iraqi Army officer following the graduation. “Now, we can help our battalions with convoys and use this vehicle to help support our battalions. There are future bad days for the insurgents.”Following the ceremony, the Iraqi soldiers loaded up in their new Humvees and drove them to Camp Yasser, the 2nd Brigade’s camp here. To graduate from the course, the Iraqi soldiers were required to obtain 250 driving miles in the vehicles under four different conditions – day, night, off-road and “black out” driving, which required them to drive in the darkness using night-vision goggles. Furthermore, they were required to pass a written test, road test, and various performance tests used to maneuver the vehicles on specific courses. “I was particularly impressed with how they grasped the knowledge for the written test,” said Master Sgt. John F. Greene, RCT-7’s motor transportation chief. “They hung in very well with the long and arduous hours we put in. I had no idea they would average 90-percent grade average.”Greene and a handful of his Marines worked “day and night” with the Iraqi soldiers to complete the training. Lance Cpl. Jonathan B. Vest, a 20-year-old Marine mechanic from Claremore, Okla., spent countless hours under the hoods of the vehicles with the Iraqi soldiers, and says he was impressed by their eagerness to learn.“They’re fast learners,” said Vest. “Most of them were in one of the Humvees the whole time. It shows that progress is being made and that they are improving.”Now, the Iraqi soldiers are qualified to teach the course and qualify other Iraqi soldiers to work on and drive the Humvees.“The fact that you can train yourselves will show the whole nation that you will very soon lead this fight,” said Crowe during the ceremony.High resolution photos are available upon request. Please contact us at: goodwinjm@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil for high resolution photos.