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MiTT soldiers are generally ranking from , based at Fort Riley , Kansas , is now responsible for training the transition teams for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. As of December 2006, there were more than 5,000 MiTTs in Iraq. It was once estimated that about 5,000 MiTT soldiers would serve in Iraq. This number, however, is expected to increase as part of the Coalition's effort in improve the capabilities and expand the size of the Iraqi Security Forces. In addition, the Iraqi Study Group's report calls for an increase manpower of up to 20,000. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16126921/site/newsweek/page/2/ Generally, military spokespersons have been very satisfied with the results of the MiTT strategy in the Iraq War . It is believed that if the U.S. Military can transition from fighting the insurgents to advising national security forces, U.S. causualty rates may come down. The handover of battlespace to Iraqi Security Forces is an often cited Benchmark Of Progress in the Iraq war. In the National Strategy For Victory In Iraq , victory is defined as ''"An Iraq that is in the lead defeating terrorists and insurgents and is providing its own security."'' IRAQ TT MISSION State-side training for Transition Teams (also referred to as Military Transition Teams, or MiTTs) is located at Fort Riley, Kansas. On average, the teams are comprised of 10-15 servicemembers (Army, Navy and Air Force). Prior to June 1, 2006, the teams, which were called Advisory Support Teams (or ASTs), were trained at a variety of locations in United States such as Camp Atterbury, Indiana and Camp Shelby, Mississippi. After several teams reported issues with the quality of this adhoc training program, training was centralized at Fort Riley. The first set of teams began training June 1, 2006. The 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division took over command and control of the TT mission in October 2006. The brigade is responsible for the creation, integration, pre-deployment preparation and training of the TT teams. Operations are centered on Fort Riley's Camp Funston, where thousands of U.S. soldiers once trained before shipping off to World War I . All TT team members currently go through five-phase training: • Before being sent to Fort Riley, they undergo some basic Arabic language training with the online Rosetta Stone Program and handouts on adviser skills. • They then are put through a 60-day course at Fort Riley, which includes cultural and language training, counterinsurgency training and more. • In Phase 3, soldiers deploy to Camp Buehring in Kuwait for about a week to 10 days for further training. • Phase 4 is a “finishing school” at the Phoenix Academy at Camp Taji , north of Baghdad , where the soldiers get briefings by top Army and Iraqi leaders. • The last phase is the relief in place and transfer of authority with the transition team counterparts under the command of Iraq Assistance Group (IAG). AFGHANISTAN TT MISSION Fort Riley also began training the first set of TT teams for Afghanistan Nov. 13, 2006. Like the military transition teams headed for Iraq, the Afghanistan Embedded Transition Teams are tasked with the mission of mentoring members of a new military. But Afghanistan ETTs are larger and bring more specialized skills to help train their counterparts. The Afghanistan Embedded Transition Team mission is hindered by a number of factors including the limited number of Dari Speakers in the United States. Rosetta Stone training in Afghanistan's national language, Dari, remains unavailable despite a US presence in Afghanistan for over a half decade. During the training conducted at Fort Riley, interpreters instruct advisors in basic Dari phrases. Pashto training is available to US soldiers deploying to the country through the Rosetta Stone program. QUOTES
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