Intelligence Training and Advisory Group establishes presence in Iraq Published March 7, 2018 By Tech. Sgt. Louis Vega Jr. Coalition Aviation Advisory and Training Team Public Affairs CAMP TAJI, Iraq -- The Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in conjunction with the Coalition Aviation Advisory and Training Team formed an Intelligence Training and Advisory Group at Camp Taji, Iraq, Feb. 9.The ITAG was established to advise and assist the Iraqi Intelligence enterprise in developing a sustainable and improved capability. A key focus area for the ITAG is to build a partnership with the Iraqi Intelligence school in Taji, which is home to the Iraqi Ministry of Defense intelligence training facility.The newly formed team, composed of Coalition personnel hand-selected by CJTF-OIR and CAATT leadership, recently held their first key leader engagement with Col. Dhmad Almosawy, the commandant of the Iraqi Intelligence and Military Security School. The engagement was held to begin the discussion on how to collaborate on the Iraqi Intelligence community’s training.Almosawy expressed his enthusiasm for working with the team and looks forward to learning new practices that will enhance the Iraqi military intelligence capabilities.“I am pleased to have you here with us today,” said Almosawy to the ITAG. “We have intelligent people here, but we lack the methods and resources to effectively prepare our intelligence officers.”Almosawy and the ITAG, led by British Army Lt. Col. Frank Parke-Robinson, CJTF-OIR ITAG director, discussed the development of an updated curriculum. During this first engagement, the team met with school instructors to answer questions about how the two organizations will work together. “We are embarking on this journey together,” said Parke-Robinson to a room of Iraqi instructors and intelligence officers. “This is a partnership in a shared business, and we are optimistically looking forward to establishing a level of understanding and working with you.”“Our function here is to understand what Iraqi MoD intelligence is teaching and try to improve upon it,” said 1st Lt. Amelia Beaton, 370th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group ITAG intelligence advisor. “We can do this by sharing our best practices and working together to implement them.”Beaton expressed how receptive the commandant was to their recommendations during the visit, which was a highlight of the visit for her.“Interacting with the Iraqis is the best part of the job here and having the ability to share what I’ve learned with another country is definitely a highlight.” The meeting between both organizations was a good first step to beginning a new and enduring relationship and an opportunity to determine each other’s needs to progress. The ITAG’s goal is to deliver a train-the-trainer package, subsequently improving their intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations with the collective efforts of both organizations. “We have been given a genuinely fantastic opportunity,” concluded Parke-Robinson. “The potential to actually do some good is palpable if we continue to take small steps together.”This is one of several programs that will enhance partner capacity, with the end goal of having strong, sustainable Iraqi security forces that are capable of countering extremism in all forms.