Coalition says army resignations of little consequence

At a time when security is one of the key issues facing Iraqis and humanitarian groups in Iraq, Coalition forces say that despite resignations of newly recruited officers, recruitment "remains strong". First, new Iraqi army members complained they were not making enough money to continue doing their jobs. Now, four Iraqi Civil Defence Corps (ICDC) members have resigned and more are threatening to follow, according to two members of the group training in Baghdad. The men did not say if the publicity about the soldiers had anything to do with their ideas. The remaining members of the ICDC training with US 2nd Infantry Division soldiers planed to make a formal complaint to ask for more pay, said Muhammad Hatim. "I like this job very much, and I want to serve my country, but I should be compensated properly," he said. Like the army, the new ICDC men are receive starting pay of US $60 a month after being recruited off the street. About 86 percent of the recruits were members of the former Iraqi army, according to Coalition figures. After two months, the ICDC men receive pay rises of between $5 and $10. The corps is envisioned as one that will work with local fire brigades around the country, on natural disasters and helping out where needed. Members may also work in border patrols, according to Coalition officials. Already, he and his friends had been helping US troops on street patrols and raids in the capital, said 32-year-old Asad Qasim. He said he had joined the ICDC in preference to the new Iraqi army, because the work allowed him to go home to his family, while being in the army did not. He said he did not want to work on border patrols, since doing so would mean being away from his friends and relatives for long periods of time. "At $60 per month, I think that's not enough for what we do," Asad said. "If we don't get a resolution to our complaint, more of us will leave this service." Nearly half of the new army recruits trained, or about 300 out of an estimated 730, had "effectively resigned", over their terms and conditions of service, as well as their low salaries, a Coalition spokesman said. Many of the soldiers are still in Kir Kush, where they were being trained. "They felt they should be paid more money than the police, because the police go home at night," Charles Heatly, the spokesman, told IRIN in Baghdad. Coalition forces were discussing whether to increase the Iraqi soldiers' pay, Gen Ricardo Sanchez, who commands US ground forces in Iraq, said recently. Those who complained said they had to support families and were not making enough money to do that, he said. Another 2,000 men who had been recruited to serve in the new army were still in the training pipeline, said Col Bill Darley, a spokesman for the Coalition forces. The number currently in training represented about two battalions in terms of numbers, Darley said. "We are on track. Recruitment remains strong," he told IRIN. About 86 percent of those recruited for the new army are former soldiers, according to Coalition figures. About 150,000 new security forces in total will be trained to protect the country, comprising 75,000 policemen, 35,000 army soldiers and 40,000 ICDC members, according to those figures, although exact numbers of each group have swung back and forth. "We're getting the same salary as the military, but we should be paid more," Asad said. Pay is substantially higher than it was under former President Saddam Hussein. A recruit used to make about $3 per month and was often pressed into service. Recruits now work to a sliding pay scale depending on leadership capabilities. Pay also rises as they advance in training. Faced with a continuing poor security environment in Iraq, Coalition troops have been training the new security forces as fast as they can. New army troops will be under the command of a Coalition officer to start with. About 9,000 troops are to have been trained by the end of next year to operate as a motorised rifle battalions, possibly with armoured vehicles. Already ICDC units work at some road checkpoints around the country, with some transport vehicles. Army troop recruitment reflects Iraq's religious diversity: 60 percent of the new troops are Shi'ahs, 25 percent Sunnis, 10 percent are Kurds, mostly from northern Iraq, and five percent come from other groups in Iraq, including Turkmens and Assyrian Christians.