BAGHDAD -More than 500 soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regional Guard Brigade reported for duty at the first Basic Combat Training Course at Sulaymaniyah August 2.

The soldiers, stationed at Qara Anjir near Kirkuk, are the first soldiers from the Ministry of Peshmerga to receive this training, conducted to the Iraqi Army standards of performance, at the Ministry of Interior Sulaymaniyah Police Academy on the Al Salam compound.

The 11-week course has a variety of classroom instruction and hands on practical exercises to reinforce student learning. Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission- Army advisors provide oversight to the thirty instructor cadre, who are recent Basic Combat Instructor graduates, while advising and assisting MoP Training Directorate personnel regarding day to day events.

The students will receive instruction on first aid, land navigation, leadership, marksmanship, security operations, and warrior skills.

All soldiers completing the Basic Combat Training course will return to Qara Anjir for their assigned duties.