BASRA, Iraq - Reasonably well-led, adequately armed with light weapons and competent in a stand-up fight, yet constrained by internal and external factors, the 10th Division is typical of Iraqi Army formations - and its progress over the years parallels that of non-police Iraqi forces in general. Since the total disbanding of the Iraqi Army in 2003, coalition trainers have painstakingly recruited and trained up more than 129,000 Iraqi troops in 10 divisions, slowly transforming a slouching mob into an army that, by regional standards, isn't half bad.

But it ain't great.

"Light and regionally based" is how British Army Lieutenant Colonel Tim Barrett describes the 11,000-strong 10th Division headquartered near the major southern city of Basra. "What you see it what you get," he adds, referring to the division's ample supply of AK-47s and machine guns but near total lack of heavy weapons -- and its unwillingness and inability to operate outside of the four southernmost provinces from which it was recruited.

What you see is this: four brigades, one per province, bolstered by a small number of special troops including bomb disposal and communications specialists, each brigade outfitted with just handful of Russian-made trucks. A 715-man motor transport regiment capable of long-range resupply is just now standing up. Until it does, Barrett reports, the division "doesn't have the wherewithal to stay out overnight."

Staying out overnight is rarely necessary since the deeply conservative, mostly Shi'ite rank and file have refused to deploy to hotspots such as Baghdad. "They don't see what Baghdad has to do with them," says British Army Lieutenant Colonel Simon Winkworth. 

Barrett explains that some Iraqi troops' contracts require only that they serve locally, so their refusals are, in fact, legal.

Regardless, Baghdad lacks the sway to dislodge the 10th Division from its home stations. So it sticks to the vicinity of Basra, exercising with the Iraqi Air Force and Navy, patrolling oil and power infrastructure, manning road checkpoints and, in crises, surging into the city to quell disturbances. This last mission might become more common as British forces look to fill the gap left by Basra's incompetent and corrupt police force. 

Through it all, the 10th Division is closely partnered with British-led coalition forces, often relying on them for leadership, logistics and air support. But division commander General Abdul Al Lateef says independence is his immediate goal. "We need to reach that point where we will be capable of taking over."

To that end, the division is preparing to integrate into the national Iraqi Forces Command, which will provide access to training infrastructure. In addition, the division is taking delivery of new weapons paid for or donated to Baghdad, including American-made Humvees, which Lateef says meet a "desperate need".

But one recent arrival from Baghdad isn't so welcome. In a move that frustrated Lateef and perplexed British officers, the Baghdad-based Ministry of Defense sent one of its generals to co-command alongside Lateef, perhaps in an effort to exert more control over the regionally-minded division.