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Marines Teach Iraqis How to Drive

by Lance Cpl. Bryan Eberly

A small team of Iraqi policemen from Fallujah learned how to drive Dec. 13.

An Iraqi policeman flashes two thumbs up as he speeds along the off-road driving course, with another up-armored vehicle trailing behind on Camp Fallujah Dec. 13. The course taught the IPs how to operate the UAVs through tough obstacles. The course is part of a week-long course to teach the IP's how to operate, recover, and maintain the UAVs donated by Regimental Combat Team 5. (photo by Lance Cpl. Bryan Eberly)

Marines with Motor Transportion Platoon, Headquarters Company, Regimental Combat Team 5 taught the IPs basic operation, recovery and maintenance for humvees. It was a precursor to prepare the Iraqi Police to take ownership of their own armored humvees.

"It's going to help them a lot," said Cpl. Peter A. Caro, a 23-year-old driver and instructor, from Riverside, Calif. "They were telling me they usually ride around in Chevy trucks, and it didn't have that much armor on it."

The course was especially important because RCT-5 just donated a set of up-armored Humvees to the Iraqi Police in Fallujah.

"They said they do a lot of patrols, so these vehicles should help them out," Caro said. "Especially the high-backs: quick, easy access in and out."

The week-long course covered everything from vehicle weight characteristics to fueling. Iraqis learned how to recover and tow the vehicles and some off-road driving techniques, said Cpl. Adam R. Dominguez, a 21-year-old driver and instructor, from Watertown, Wis.

"We learned a lot about it," explained an IP first sergeant, through an interpreter. "We know how to drive it, how to go to our missions. And by this way also we get more ready than before, and we can protect our city."

The recovery class taught the IPs how to hook on a tow-bar to two vehicles and maneuver them. The Iraqis split into groups of three and took turns hooking, moving and detaching the vehicles.

The off-road course is designed for the Iraqis to learn how to adjust their driving for heavier and sway-prone humvees, Dominguez said.

The course had sharp turns, loose sand pits, large bumps, and plenty of obstacles. One portion of the course dug into the ground to form two pits, which the Iraqis had to drive through without scraping along the sides.

The classes prepare the IPs for a time when they will deal with problems by themselves, Dominguez said.

"They need to learn how to do them, and Marines are not going to always be there to keep it up," he said.

The Iraqis can't become dependent on the presence of Marines, Dominguez said.

"If they need something, I imagine if they need something major, they're going to come to us," he said. "But I can't always be there, Cpl. Caro can't always be there, or any Marine can't always be there when they do operate and so, if they're going to be operating on their own, they got to kind of go on their own, like with their own responsibility."

The Iraqi policemen are ready to start taking over, the first sergeant said.

"By this training we are going to be able to take care for our city and we let the Marines relax," he said.

The IPs were excited to learn the new techniques, Caro said.

"They're really eager to learn," he said. "They want to retain all the knowledge they can."

"They're all just so anxious to learn," Dominguez said. "It's amazing that we tell them, 'hey, we need a group of three,' but they all want to do it. They all want to do it together. They want to jump in front of the next guy to learn it."

The Iraqis were thankful for the training and are ready to impress the Marines, said the first sergeant.

"And the instructors, they were very good and they explained to us everything and we are asking them questions and the way of training was good," he said. "And we thank them for their participation, and you're going to see we're going to work good and everything is alright and by this way we are ready to fight against the terrorists."

Marines hope that the Iraqis will retain the knowledge, and be able to show other Iraqis what they've learned, Caro said.

"I was telling an interpreter that they pretty much gather all the knowledge and they go back to their IP stations and they pretty much teach the rest of these guys how to work the humvees," he said. "So, I want to teach them the right way. So they can go back and execute the right way."

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