Presser by coalition forces commander

(13 Dec 2003) 1. Wide of podium 2. SOUNDBITE: (English) General Ricardo Sanchez, Coalition spokesman: "The cause of the problem that we are facing right now is based on pay, and how much impact? We'll continue to train the remaining, we have about 400 left in that battalion, and we will continue to train based on the mission requirements that they have. And we will employ them based on the capabilities that they have at the end of their training. And is it a setback for that one battalion, yes it is but in terms of being able to sustain the levels of military forces we are going to need over time, right now recruiting is up to what is needed." 3. Cutaway 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) General Ricardo Sanchez, Coalition spokesman: "Question: Can you tell us how much the recruits are being paid? Answer: Well the one thing I failed to tell you was that the exodus was from those that had families and were married. The recruits we are able to retain are getting paid 60 (US) Dollars a month and there is a graduated scale above that. So the recruits are not a problem, its the allowances for married soldiers and the fact that they've got families to support. That's where our challenges are that's what we are looking at right now." 5. Wide of podium STORYLINE: The US-led coalition will reconsider the pay scale for members of the new Iraqi army after about half of the recruits deserted, the US general in charge of Iraqi military operations said on Saturday. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, speaking at a news conference, said the major reason for the defections was pay, specifically allowances for married soldiers who were struggling to support their families on US 60dollars a month. But he said the setbacks shouldn't harm the overall goal of training 40,000 members of light infantry battalions by next October. That contradicts reports that the US military had scaled back that goal. He also said a separate, 550-member force drawn from militias affiliated with Iraqi political parties, was being trained to fight insurgents in Baghdad. The unit, he said, was part of the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps and would work under the command of the 1st Armored Division, the US military unit in charge of the Iraqi capital. The situation in the country continues to be hostile, on Friday, insurgents detonated a bomb alongside a US military convoy west of Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding two others. The attack occurred at 6:30 a.m. Friday in Ramadi, 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of the Iraqi capital, the U.S. Central Command said in Florida. Also Friday, a bomb improvised from a land mine exploded on the outskirts of the southern city of Mahaweel as a 19-man Polish convoy drove by, wounding two of the soldiers. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...