Photo By Staff Sgt. James Hunter | Iraqi policemen stand in formation during their graduation ceremony from the Iraqi...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Sgt. James Hunter
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division
BAGHDAD, Iraq – When Iraqi leaders and Coalition forces began recruiting men to join the Concerned Local Citizens, their end state goal was for the men to go through the Iraqi Police Academy to join in the mission of securing Baghdad as a legitimate security force.
Men throughout Baghdad stepped up to answer their fellow neighbors call for freedom and security and joined the effort to help protect their fellow men, women and children.
With the Iraq's Maj. Gen. Kadhem Hamid Sharhan, the provincial police commander of Baghdad in attendance, more than 490 Iraqis showed him and his counterparts their readiness and willingness to protect their fellow Iraqis as they graduated from the Camp Fiji Iraqi Police Training Facility in Baghdad Feb. 2.
More than 260 of the men were recruited from the Mansour District of Baghdad.
"These men were former CLCs and are now police officers working for the Ministry of Interior and the Government of Iraq," said Bristol, Capt. Marcus Vartan, a Tenn. native, who serves with Multi-National Division – Baghdad's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). "They are the first class of CLCs to become IPs. They will be followed by many of their other CLC brothers in the near future."
The recent graduates went through the two-week course at Camp Fiji that was taught by 20 Iraqi police instructors from the Iraqi Provincial Directorate of Police and five instructors from the Civilian Police Assistance Transition Team, said Vartan. The course taught the students basic knowledge in enforcing the law, weaponry, combative techniques and first aid, while also concentrating on the appropriate values, ethics and appropriate guidance on human rights.
Capt. Mohammed, an Iraqi training commander, said he sees only good things for the future with this increased amount of policemen patrolling throughout Baghdad to bring peace to the citizens of Iraq.
Vartan made a few stops at Camp Fiji to witness the training first-hand.
"I observed them in first aid classes and in making a felony traffic stop," he said. "I was most impressed with their superb discipline and high degree of motivation."
Particularly for the Iraqi Security Forces of Jamia, the event proved to be a historic day. In September, the men were recruited to serve as a local security force to protect the neighborhood from once again falling into the hands of al-Qaida.
The 50 men, and 11 others who graduated from the Karkh Police Academy on the other side of town, will form the core of a new police force that will begin work in Jamia next Friday.
"There hasn't been any Iraqi Police in the neighborhood since we arrived, so we expect today's graduation to have a big effect on security," said, 1st Sgt. Samuel Aarons, a native of Ft. Worth, Texas, who serves with Co. B, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment. "Our goal has always been to have our Concerned Local Citizens become Iraqi Police and a part of the legitimate government security forces, so this is an extremely positive step in the right direction."
Prior to their attendance at the academy, Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, and the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, trained them on basic security tasks, such as weapons handling, vehicle and personnel searches and night operations.
After undergoing the training, the men were able to work at traffic control points inside the Jamia neighborhood along side Iraqi Army Soldiers. With their graduation from the IP Academy, the men will now be able to receive in-depth training on conducting investigations, community policing and resolving disputes first hand.
They will also be able to assume a greater role in the security of the Jamia neighborhood by conducting patrols to investigate reports of criminal activity, which is often linked to terrorist activity.
It was an extremely proud day for the Mansour District of Baghdad. After countless months of rampant violence, followed by an uneasy calm, the district now has an enhanced ability now that it has a police force capable of further enhancing neighborhood safety.
| Date Taken: | 02.02.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 02.06.2008 16:25 |
| Story ID: | 16109 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 412 |
| Downloads: | 387 |
This work, Recruits graduate from Camp Fiji IP Academy, by SSG James Hunter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT