Why it is taking so long for Iraqi Military to "Step Up"

As a former Marine I can attest to the "sensibility of this post" I found on the internet.

I experienced 13 weeks of 1980's vintage Marine Corps indoctrination at Parris Island SC. It was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I would repeat it again (especially since I would love to weigh 138 Lbs. again)

The "gist" of the article is that the Iraqi Army was denuded by a lot of factors, mainly the war against Iran in the 80's, the "decapitation by "Desert Storm in the early 90's (their expulsion from Kuwait), and most devestatatingly Sadaam's purges of whoever dared to show resistance to his rule....

Consequentially, Iraq had officers, who ruled like Sadaam did... "You disobey, you are shot".

Well, our military has a different structure... We are taught from Private (E-1) to Staff Sgt (E-6) to do the job of the guy above you if your leader is killed in action. i.e. We are taught from the "bottom up" how to function and "Lead" in combat.....

I came out of boot camp and went to my first duty assignment upon arrival I was informed... "You have been taught to "shut your mouth, follow orders, and perform your mission as assigned". I (a E-4 Corporal or E-3 Lance Corporal) am going to show you how to get the "job done"..... Understand????

What I understood, was to follow the lead of that Marine, and learn the job as I went....

Iraq has no NCO's.... They have mostly been killed, and/or were never given the same power... Think about it... Sadaam needed control do you trust 1000 officers or 10,000 NCO's??? Who easier to keep an eye on???

This should help when you hear the refrain "when are the Iraqi's going to be able to do it themselves"??