INSTAPUNDIT’S IRAQ CORRESPONDENT, Major John Tammes, sends this report and photo:

Am now at Tallil, Iraq. I will be working, along with several others, to coach, teach, mentor and advise the Iraqi Army on what they need to do to sustain the fight by themselves.

Before I got to Tallil, I went through an Iraqi Army Basic Combat Training site. The jinood (soldiers) you see seated around the various instructors [you really CAN spot a drill instructor a mile away, no matter what army!] are the ones who will be carrying on the defense of Iraq, when we are all home someday. The Iraqis are starting to find their own way, and with help for a little longer, they will build a capable and formidable regional military.