Some soldiers say training didn’t prepare them for Iraq

More than 3,200 Tennesseans in the 278th Regimental Combat Team left for Iraq last November as the largest single deployment of Tennessee National Guard troops since World War II.

“The training that they gave us, I don’t think it was realistic compared to what it was in Iraq,” said Staff Sgt. Sergio Yanez, of Murfreesboro, a member of the 278th Regimental Combat Team.

Yanez was among the thousands of Tennessee soldiers returning from Iraq this week. The Knoxville-based 278th totals nearly 4,000 members from several states, including Texas, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, whose contingent flew directly back to that state for demobilization.

Members of the 278th are going to Camp Shelby, Miss., before heading home. The unit spent about six months training at Camp Shelby and in California before deploying to Iraq.

Most of the unit’s members are scheduled to return to the United States by mid-November.

Some soldiers said they should have trained on armored Humvees like the ones they used in Iraq. The ones they trained on at Camp Shelby had canvas doors and no radios and were 500 to 1,000 pounds lighter than the armored Humvees.

“It’s the difference between driving an old Yugo and a big van,” said Spc. Rodger Mosier, of Clarksville.

Lt. Gen. Russel Honore said the military sent the armored vehicles it had to Iraq during the 278th’s training period and there weren’t enough armored Humvees for them to train on.

Some soldiers also said they should have been trained by instructors who had fought in Iraq.

“It (training) didn’t prepare us for what we ran into over there,” said Chief Warrant Officer Anthony Tucker, of Knoxville.

Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett said the 278th was better prepared than the units that went to Iraq before it.

“You don’t need an armored Humvee to train. You need an armored Humvee to go to war,” he said.

There have been 45 servicemen from Tennessee killed in Iraq, and 10 were members of the 278th. Two died in a 24-hour battle in April after the 278th attacked an insurgent training facility.

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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com