Iraqis].” The goal, she emphasized, is to “make them stress
their own system and find their own solution—an Iraqi
solution to an Iraqi problem.”
Iriberri was optimistic about the prospects for success.
“The Iraqi Army has put its best foot forward in trying to
re-create its logistics system,” she said. “[For example,] the
Taji third-line maintenance facility commander has been in
the maintenance field his entire career, over 20 years, and
the same with the transportation officers.”
Training from the back seat
Capt. Iriberri’s task was often a delicate one. She was a junior captain who dealt with Iraqi colonels and generals,
which required more than a little tact and diplomacy.
Asked about a typical day, Capt. Iriberri said her workday
frequently began with a visit to General Sabah, with an
interpreter in tow. “General Sabah would insist on having
chai [tea],” she said. “We would have tea and I would ask,
‘When is the GTR arriving on Taji? Is the GTR arriving on
Taji? How many people are coming with them, and how
TAJI, IRAQ— WHILE STANDING ON A MAP OF IRAQ, IRAQI ARMY OFFI-
CERS RESPOND TO A SCENARIO DURING A LOGISTICAL TRAINING EXER-
CISE HERE OCT. 28. THE FIRST SUSTAINMENT BRIGADE, THIRD SUS-
TAINMENT COMMAND (EXPEDITIONARY), IS CURRENTLY MENTORING
THE GENERAL TRANSPORTATION REGIMENT AND THE THIRD-LINE
MAINTENANCE FACILIT Y HERE, BOTH OF WHICH WOULD ENHANCE THE
LOGISTICAL CAPABILITY OF IRAQI SECURITY FORCES.
(U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SPC. KIYOSHI C. FREEMAN)
many vehicles are coming with them? Do they have a place
to live? Does that place have beds? Does that place have
power? How will they eat?’ So a lot of it was just figuring out
life support for the unit.”
Her goal, she said, was to find out “to what extent that
commander had doctrine already set in his mind and
[come up with] a standard operating procedure for his unit
to figure out what kind of training support we would be
required to provide.” Using the information she gleaned
from her discussions with the general, Iriberri would determine whether the advisory team needed to provide technical assistance in establishing procedures from scratch, or if
