18 Jan. 2006

NATO trains over 1,000 Iraqi officers Background NATO’s assistance to Iraq In 2005, NATO’s Training Mission in Iraq trained 1,000 mid- and senior-level officers in country, and close to 500 in NATO facilities in Europe. “The Alliance aims to achieve the same results in 2006,” said NATO Spokesman James Appathurai. NATO trainers have been working in Iraq since August 2004, as part of the Alliance’s support for the development of the country’s security institutions. Building an officer corps The NATO training effort focuses on mid-and-senior level Iraqi officers. It aims to help the Iraqi security forces develop an officer corps trained in modern military leadership skills, as well as to inculcate the values appropriate to democratically-controlled armed forces. The training includes courses on strategic planning, management and analysing lessons learned from day-to-day operations. In September 2005, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Jafaari opened the Iraqi Joint Staff College in Ar-Rustamiyah, on the outskirts of the capital, where officer training now is primarily taking place. “NATO is involved in training, equipping, and technical assistance - not combat,” stressed James Appathurai.