U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, head of the country’s anti-Islamic State group campaign, said in his final Pentagon press briefing that the liberation of the Iraqi city of Ramadi served as the turning point of the effort, DoD News reported Wednesday.
Terri Moon Cronk writes MacFarland noted the Army’s training, equipment, advisory and assistance to the Iraq’s forces helped prepare the country’s troops on urban combat environments that the soldiers will use in its attempt to take control of Mosul.
“We’ve shifted away from counterinsurgency toward combined arms maneuver training, teaching the Iraqis how to integrate infantry, armor, artillery, engineers, aviation and other combat multipliers,” said MacFarland.
“We modified the type and level of support we provided over the course of the past year, but we have not fundamentally altered the paradigm of train and equip, advise and assist.â€
Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, 18th Airborne Corps commander, will succeed MacFarland as commander of the campaign.
