The services need to do a more thorough job of providing combat-skills training to support troops, according to an April 16 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Where in past conflicts military police, engineers, and medical personnel typically operated in relatively safer rear positions, the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq offered no such clear distinction to the members of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) who operate in those areas, the report stated. While noting that CENTCOM, the Army, and the Marines require all members to undergo combat-skills training, a GAO study conducted between August 2009 and February 2010 determined that "there is confusion over which forces the CENTCOM requirements apply to, the conditions under which the tasks are to be trained, and the standards for successfully completing the training," according to the GAO. As a result, some trainees receive "detailed hands-on training" while others simply watch someone perform the tasks they are supposed to be learning. Units who receive and do not receive the same levels of training are deploying into combat areas, the report stated. The GAO urged the services to apply CENTCOM’s training requirements to all personnel slated to serve in areas of conflict.
