Government to reintegrate former army personnel

By Khalid al-Taie in Baghdad
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-03-05

[Ali al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images] More than 9,000 former army personnel could re-enter the Iraqi Army.

The Iraqi government has issued an order to integrate thousands of personnel from the former army into the current armed forces. The Iraqi government issued the order, Resolution No. 34, on February 25th. Spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Defence Mohammed al-Askari called for former members who submitted applications to return to service to be reintegrated within 45 days.

Officials hope the order will help more than 9,000 former personnel return to the armed services.

"The reinstatement decision will push the military institution forward and bring justice to the rights of those military personnel who have served Iraq for years and played an honourable role in defending its soil," said Qais Mahmoud, 43, a former officer.

Those who choose to re-enter the armed forces will be able to return to service or be referred for retirement.

Gen. Raad al-Taey, director of the officers department in the Ministry of Defence, said the government began receiving new applications from officers and non-commissioned officers in Iraq on February 28th, and will continue to receive applications through April 1st.

For officers and non-commissioned officers based outside the country, the deadline for submitting the applications is in mid-April.

The ministry will open 12 centres for receiving applications from officers in Iraq, and five other centers in Jordan, Egypt, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

"The centres are the same ones that started receiving them at the start of the drive in the summer of 2008 and at the same geographical places because they are easy to reach for former army personnel," said Gen. al-Taey.

"Many of the personnel who were in the armed forces had acquired skills and long experience," Mahmoud said. "However, the decision to disband the army after the fall of the former regime left many of them jobless, or made them resort to jobs that do not suit their qualifications and capabilities."

The resolution is a supplement to a similar decision made by the Iraqi government in June 2008, which also called for the reinstatement of former army personnel. Since then, 20,000 former officers and personnel inside and outside Iraq have submitted applications, according to al-Askari.

However, due to limited funding, the government was unable to reinstate all the officers who wanted to return, according to Iraqi government spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh.

"The government earlier reinstated more than 13,600 officers to service," al-Dabbagh said. "After financial allocations became available, the government decided to reinstate the rest, some 6,400, so that they may contribute to the realization of security and stability in their country."

Taha Darie Taha, a member of the Iraqi parliament's National Reconciliation Committee, said, "Although the step to take this decision was somewhat late, it is, generally speaking, an important and necessary step in order to benefit from the experiences and expertise of those military personnel in building and developing the capabilities of the current Army and to expedite the pace of national reconciliation."

Many Iraqi citizens agreed.

"We are relieved that this case has been resolved so that there will no longer be a former army and another new army," said Qassim Abdul Ghani, a taxi driver in Baghdad. "Rather, there will be just one Iraqi Army which includes in its ranks those who believe in the political and democratic process and who work for the interest and progress of this country."

Amera Kadhum, a resident of Baghdad said, "Iraq needs all of its sons, especially former military personnel whose hands have not been tainted with the blood of Iraqi people and who have not resorted to violence."

Jassim Attia, 56, a retired soldier, wants to see former soldiers share their knowledge with the current armed forces.

"The decision will encourage thousands of officers who left for neighbouring countries to return to Iraq and rejoin the Army," he said. "Most of those officers are enthusiastic about returning to their homeland, participating with their brothers in the service, and helping to train and educate new officers."

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