US forces analyse future role of advise-and-assist brigades in Iraq

摘要

As US combat forces draw down from Iraq, military leaders are analysing how to structure and employ the new advise-and-assist brigades (AABs) that are taking shape in theatre.rnUS and Iraqi representatives agreed last year that American combat forces would leave Iraq by August 2010, with 50,000 advise-and-assist troops staying behind until a full withdrawal, currently slated for the end of 2011. Troops remaining after August 2010 are to be structured into the AABs.rnThese brigades are to have traditional strike capabilities, as well as advisory roles, the ability to augment local forces with 'combat enablers' and command-and-control (C2) tools to support both its own manoeuvre units and indigenous units.rnThe AAB construct is relatively new and the army's Combined Arms Center has developed and fielded doctrine for the brigades in a matter of months. These units are to be tailored for the environment in which they will operate and are not expected to all be the same, but some concepts are emerging from the field that could help commanders fill out their equipment stocks and ranks.