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www.boston.com...
At least 3,000 Navy and Air Force personnel such as Peters -- trained mainly in noncombat specialties such as mechanics and construction -- are serving on the front lines of the Iraqi insurgency. The Iraq war is the first military engagement in which such large numbers of air and naval personnel are serving in combat roles on the ground, facing imminent threat of attack.
Most of them have received only crash courses in basic combat, in some cases after they've arrived in the Middle East and then been stationed near the front lines because of shortages of troops in the Army and Marine Corps. Though technically defined as support units, their jobs -- guarding convoys and oil facilities, or defusing bombs under fire -- bear little resemblance to traditional ''noncombat" duty in the safety of a base.
''Airmen are driving trucks in Iraq because the Army didn't have enough of them," Brigadier General S. Taco Gilbert, the Air Force's deputy director for strategic planning, said in a recent interview. ''They're manning .50-caliber machine guns."
Some of the service members contend that they have not been provided with sufficient skills to protect themselves in combat situations.
Peters and his Air Force comrades were given five days of weapons training in Kuwait before taking up their posts guarding convoys in Iraq, according to three members of his unit, two of whom received the training with Peters. Normally, infantry receive a minimum of eight weeks of training in combat skills, with most receiving months more of special preparation to survive under dangerous conditions.
Originally posted by deltaboy
this shows the need to train more noncombat personnel.
This really angers me - most especially since these troops were not trained for combat roles.
Originally posted by Gazrok
Last I checked ALL were trained in boot camp, and taught how to fire a weapon, etc. with the expectation that some day they may have to use one. Whether a front line GI or a payroll clerk, such training is continued throughout service. Being put in harm's way is part of the job.
Originally posted by devilwasp
Wait, air force and navy personel in boot camps?
I know the marines are navy but actual sailors being in boot camp? Seems a bit odd..
Originally posted by devilwasp
Wait, air force and navy personel in boot camps?
I know the marines are navy but actual sailors being in boot camp? Seems a bit odd..
Originally posted by devilwasp
Wait, air force and navy personel in boot camps?
I know the marines are navy but actual sailors being in boot camp? Seems a bit odd..
Originally posted by deltaboy
should remember Navy Seals are sailors. they dont just go to just ordinary boot camp they go to Coronado, San Diego where Hell Week is the worst thing to enjoy.