5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Story by Sgt. Michael Tuttle

by Sgt. Michael Tuttle
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

KIRKUK, Iraq – Continuing their efforts to become an independent force, a group of Iraqi policemen ran through battle drills conducted by 25th Infantry Division Soldiers at the Meghdad Police Station Oct. 8.

The training is part of a program in which Soldiers from C. Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, regularly work with the Iraqi Police to help them strengthen their skills and become a self-sufficient force.

The program started last week and the two groups have trained together nearly every day.

"We continuously teach them while doing joint patrols with them every day," said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Spinks, squad leader. "It's important to their own operations and it's important for us to be on the same page when we're patrolling together.

"We start out with the basics when doing static training and build on that the more we come out here. It improves their skills and their understanding of how we do things, which also helps when we're working together."

During Sunday's training, Spinks's squad taught the Iraqi police how to react to enemy contact.

Following a demonstration by the squad, Sgt. Steven Knuth, team leader, instructed 10 policemen how to react to contact. He emphasized proper communication and weapons awareness during the tactical movements. The policemen walked through the scenario before running through it at full speed.

"The training was very useful," said an Iraqi policeman through an interpreter. "Practicing the movements together and seeing it all in action makes us more confident."

The Iraqi policemen were enthusiastic throughout the training and eager to learn more from the Soldiers, evident by the numerous questions they asked at the end of the day. Knutz reassured them that additional training would follow.

"We're teaching you guys the basics," Knutz said. "We'll come back to follow up and we'll include more advanced techniques with more scenarios."

Knutz was also impressed by how well the Iraqi police picked up the training.

"They understood the content and they reacted well," Knutz said. "They did everything to a 'T'."

Associated Images

Control Panel