Military Transition Teams

A Military Transition Team, or Transition Team, is a 10-15 soldier team that trains local forces. The term has been used in the context of the "War on Terror" to design groups training in particular the Iraqi Security Forces. Afghan Army and other Afghan security forces are mentored and trained by US Embedded Training Teams (ETTs) and Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) of other nations.

The primary mission of transition teams is to advise the security forces of Iraq in the areas of intelligence, communications, fire support, logistics, operations and infantry tactics. The aim is to make the ISF capable of conducting independent counterinsurgency operations, tactically, operationally, and logistically. When executing military operations with their Iraqi partners, transition teams call for U.S. close air support, indirect fire, and medical evacuation, whenever necessary. They also perform the critical role of liaising between the foreign unit and nearby U.S. units to ensure that each unit is aware of and can assist the other in their operations. Transition teams also monitor and report on the capabilities of the fledgling security force. They work with their Iraqi counterparts to enhance the understanding of the rule of law and fundamental human rights.

In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the transition teams are a central part of the strategy to train and equip national security forces. One of the primary missions of U.S. military in Iraq is the training of competent Iraqi security forces. By the end of 2006, transition teams assisted in the training and equipping of approximately 326,000 Iraqi security services. That figure includes 138,000 members of the Iraqi Army and 188,000 Iraqi police and national police forces.

The preponderance of transition teams are known as Military Transition Teams, MiTTs. These teams are responsible for training and advising the Iraqi Army (IA).

In 2005, in order to provide similar mentorship to Iraq’s other security forces, the Multinational Corps-Iraq (MNC-I) began to embed transition teams with the Ministry of the Interior’s paramilitary Iraqi National Police (NP) and regular Iraqi Police Service (IPS). Formerly known as Special Police Training Teams, SPTTs, these national police teams - called National Police Transition Teams, NPTTs - are nearly identical to those supporting the Iraqi Army and consist of 10-12 American Soldiers on each team that is tasked to train an entire Iraqi National Police Battalion.

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