The 3rd Infantry Division is preparing for a second tour in Iraq and they have been busy re-organizing and re-training.
The division's brigades are the first to be "transformed" into what the military calls "units of action." During the past year, the brigades have been reorganized to expand their capabilities and make them more flexible. "We had an awesome task," says Col. Robert Grymes, a division officer. "Reset the division, reorganize, and then train to go back. The dust is still settling."Posted by Alan at December 28, 2004 09:46 AMThe division's transformation has added a new brigade, the 4th, virtually started from scratch. After the reorganization, no longer are engineers, tanks, and infantry in separate battalions. Instead, they have been integrated and trained to work as a group. And the new structure puts a greater emphasis on military tasks other than combat--such as psychological operations, information campaigns, and civil affairs work.
Both the division's reorganization and the new threat in Iraq required intensive training for new tasks. Much of the 4th Brigade's artillery battalion will be used to escort State Department officials, so artillerymen have been taught to use machine guns and run convoys. The armor companies have been trained on small arms, since patrol missions will require the use of armored humvees, not tanks. The division has tried to make sure that the soldiers in support jobs--mechanics, supply clerks, truck drivers--all have improved their rifle skills. "We have changed the way we train," says Grymes. "Every soldier is a rifleman, and he will be a wolf, not a sheep."
Commanders hope the reorganization will help the brigades better counter the new threats in Iraq. Battling a guerrilla insurgency, 3rd Infantry officers say, requires close interaction between combat maneuvers, reconstruction projects, and public outreach efforts. As part of the reorganization, each brigade commander now has officers assigned to work civil affairs and psychological and information operations. And the division has also created an "Effects Coordination Cell" to better integrate combat maneuvers and information campaigns.