Special Forces Train Iraqi Personal Security Detail

Personal security detail course students, taught by U.S. Special Forces, practice evacuating an official in a protective formation.

Spc. Benjamin Fox
27 June, 2009 06:25:00

Font size:

MOSUL, Iraq – In order to provide added capabilities for Iraqi security forces in Ninewa province, U.S. Special Forces trained two Iraqi personal security details to protect elected officials in the province May 24 and June 7.

The five-day course, conducted on Forward Operating Base Marez, covered personal security techniques, immediate medical care and basic marksmanship skills.

"The overall intent is to teach the detail to protect and secure their democratically elected officials," said the primary course instructor, who preferred to be called "Sgt. Lex" due to operational security reasons.

The students had a wide range of experience in military and PSD service. By the end of the course, however, every student had learned intricate techniques and concepts.

On the first day of training, Sgt. Lex gave the students an overview of the course and introduced them to his drill sergeant training style to instill discipline in the team.

"We inculcated a 'one-team, one-fight' environment from the very beginning," said Sgt. Lex. "We had to ensure they understood that every individual effort affects the total outcome. This really paid dividends by the end of the course just like it will when they conduct operations in Ninewa."

The hands on portion started the next day, beginning with medical training. SF medics taught the students how to provide medical treatment for battlefield wounds in order to keep each other and their official alive following an attack.

The teachers ensured the students understood the basics of maintaining an airway, assistance in breathing, ensuring circulation and controlling breathing, said a medical instructor.

Two SF instructors taught the marksmanship portion, which involved safely loading, unloading and clearing their weapons. They also focused on applying the fundamentals of basic rifle marksmanship while firing from the standing, kneeling and prone positions.

Once the students had a handle on the basics, the marksmanship instructors taught the detail more advanced techniques, such as correcting weapon malfunctions, magazine changes and how to shoot and move.

Following marksmanship training, Sgt. Lex taught the team how to move in a protective formation and evacuate their official out of danger. The students drilled on the security techniques until it became second nature for them.

With the routines lodged firmly in their minds, Sgt. Lex gave the students scenarios to run through, such as safely escorting an official to a meeting and reacting to crowds or threats. The detail did these scenarios until each squad knew how to react to each situation.

"It's virtually impossible to expose the students to every possible scenario they'll face, so we focused the training to the likely threats and conditions they'll encounter in their area of operations," said Sgt. Lex. "More important than learning hundreds of techniques, we wanted to focus on principles and teamwork with the intent of them learning how to think and not what to think."

The final day began with a practical exercise in which the detail escorted mock officials to meetings and had to react to threats against the officials they were assigned to protect. After the exercise, the detail graduated and each student received a certificate of completion.

"I'm extremely proud of this protective detail. We've introduced them to several scenarios not covered in training and they've responded like seasoned veterans," he said.