Page 109 - RSDG Year of 2022 CREST

East Review whilst I was deployed and gave us a brief on the importance of having troops deployed in Iraq and the Middle East, which was brought to life when I spent some time in the same location as a Russian delegation.
As the NMI Senior Military Liaison Officer to the 1st Military College (MC) in Baghdad, a part of Professional Military Education (PME) Branch I was there to coordinate, support and deliver the advisory activity in the Professional Security Education (PSE) Division to the MC and was responsible for supporting the MC in Curriculum and Faculty development in line with the NMI Advisory Plan. My boss, Col John Foster has worked with a number of Eagle and Carbine readers before and I know has another two going out to join him in the coming months and in my team was Sgt Jimmy Blatchley Gren Gds and Burak, a Turkish Airforce Major.
My point of contact at the MC was Capt Hassan Alrubaye, a graduate of Sandhurst CC 133 where he proudly won the overseas Sword of Honour. He showed me around the MC and many things felt familiar, established in 1924 with help from the British Army, Al Rustamayah ‘the hero factory’ has produced future leaders for the Iraqi Army apart from when the camp was turned into an US FOB for about 10 years. There are still reminders of British influence all over
the MC. It goes without saying that one difference was the temperature which was 12 degrees hotter than the peak of the UK heatwave!
SSgt Baldwin our last PT Corps SSgt at SCOTS DG joined NMI while I was there, it was great to work with him and the Iraqi’s on the Commando course syllabus re write but our work was unfortunately not approved for the course that ran while I was out there, Inshallah it will be adopted in the future.
Due to the force protection restrictions the Iraqi’s have securing training areas they run one large exercise each year that covers off many of the Training Objectives achieved over multiple RMAS exercises including patrolling, company attacks, FIBUA and public order. It was great to be able to visit Ex Lion of Babylon and see the exercise and understand what assistance we can offer in the future.
Other notable events included Turkey Day at The Turkish Embassy which is enormous, as you’d expect from a country with a land border with Iraq and My first thanksgiving catered for by Americans which did not disappoint, the volume of food on offer was extraordinary.
Whilst at the Military College I noticed some pictures of ceremonial troops on grey horses and asked the LO
Turkish National Day at the Embassy
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