As the President contemplates the course of the war in Iraq, troops are working more efficiently to learn how to hand over power. Fort Riley is taking on a major role preparing troops.

When it comes to helping Iraq stand alone, the Army's transition teams take on an important role. One look at Fort Riley's transition team training shows it's aimed at getting soldiers ready for the real thing.

It's almost as real as it gets. Transition team soldiers training at Fort Riley are on a mission to find insurgents and weapons in this makeshift-Iraqi village, designed to come as close as possible to reality.

"This training is critical. It’s critical to our ultimate success in Iraq, that we get fully qualified transition teams," says Lt. Col. Shawn Mahana, 2nd Brigade, 91st Division Commander.

In the name of training, the goal is simulation. Transition team soldiers have to help role players (Iraqi Security Forces) fight and search the city. The search intensifies with chants from angry civilians saying things like, "Go away America" and "Bush is a thief." Soldiers learn the Arabic phrases in classes with actual Arabic-speaking adults from the region, who also come out to training.

"If we mess up a bit they say (in Arabic) soldier, you need to go over here and do this. So it's a corrective process and eventually we begin to figure out how it works. Going over to Iraq is a whole different world and the better prepared you are, the better off you are," says Lt. Will Chuber, artillery.

And he says the better you perform the mission. Veterans who've been there agree this realistic training is the right step.

"This is new thing I never got to do this before I went over. I think it's going to help everyone out and, hopefully, make things go quicker over there," says PFC. Jonathan DeKock, Iraqi Civilian Roleplayer.

"It's better to make their mistakes here and learn from them here," says Mahana.

Knowledge soldiers say can save lives.

The post has four training villages and plans to build more since the Army chose to give this mission to the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley. Similar villages are also in the works at Fort Riley to prepare troops for missions in Afghanistan.