Airmen assume Iraqi Police Transition Team responsibilities in Rashid

Photo By Sgt. David Hodge | Lt. Col. Jeffrey Mullins, operations officer assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, speaks to Iraqi police leaders during an IP summit, Oct. 22, 2008, at Forward Operating Base Falcon in southern Baghdad's Rashid District. Mullins, a native of Bristol, Va., attended the U.S. Air Force-led meeting, to measure their improvements and gather information for the IPs. Airmen from Detachment 3, 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, attached to the 716th Military Police Battalion, 18th MP Bde., MND-B, recently assumed responsibility for all IP operations in Rashid.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

10.25.2008

Story by Sgt. David Hodge 

1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

By Sgt. David Hodge
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq — Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers welcomed a U.S. Air Force detachment to its ranks recently at Forward Operating Base Falcon in southern Baghdad.

The Airmen of Detachment 3 have assumed responsibility for all Iraqi Police Transition Team operations for the entire Rashid District and now work alongside Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, MND-B.

"There are very few Air Force units that go outside the wire, and that's what we do every day," said Master Sgt. Tom Daniels, a flight sergeant assigned to Det. 3, 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, attached to the 716th Military Police Battalion, 18th MP Brigade.

With less than a month on the ground, the Airmen of Det. 3 have already been tested "outside the wire," said Daniels, who is in charge of three squads and six IP stations in Rashid.

"Now that we got our feet under us, our main push is to get the IPs into the community because the public is used to seeing the Iraqi army and Iraqi national police," explained Daniels, a San Diego native.

The Airmen are from 52 different bases worldwide, said Daniels. All but one of them is active-duty Air Force, and they all volunteered to deploy for the yearlong mission.

The group met in Fort Dix, N.J., for a two-month training exercise before deploying.

"The training we had at Fort Dix was very realistic," said Tech Sgt. Charles Fortier, a squad leader assigned to Det. 3.

Shortly after the unit's arrival, the Airmen responded to an attack, Oct. 12, 2008, on innocent Iraqi civilians in the Bayaa community. The team served as the only American forces at the scene of a car bomb explosion for the first hour, said Daniels.

Fortier said he heard the blast from a nearby IP station when the vehicle detonated.

"We heard it and felt it," stated Fortier, who hails from Wausau, Wis.

Fortier and other members of the detachment followed the IPs to the scene.

"After driving to the site, the IPs immediately began caring for and evacuating the wounded," said Fortier, who is on his first deployment to Iraq but has experienced four other deployments to the Middle East. "The IPs handled the situation excellently. Even the IP commander was right in the middle of the blast site helping out."

Fortier said he believes the IPs are a self-sufficient force capable of conducting many routine police investigations without any outside help.

The transition team holds a bi-monthly conference at FOB Falcon to measure improvements and gather information for IPs, said Capt. Matt Ballanco, detachment operations officer for Det. 3.

The focus of the transition team is to identify and fix administration issues at the IP stations, continue to improve the emergency response system, and develop tactics for better crime scene preservation, said Ballanco, a native of Tampa, Fla.

Maj. Nathan Schallas, the commander of Det. 3, challenged the IP leaders to take the lead during an IP Summit, Oct. 22, 2008, as American forces move into over watch control and the Government of Iraq raises its interest in aiding the Iraqi security forces throughout the Rashid District.

"The top priorities for the IPs are the safety of the Iraqi population and the disruption of criminal activity," stated Schallas, who hails from Carlisle, Pa.

The Airmen of Det. 3 remain committed to ensuring the IPs are a fully-capable and self-sufficient police force in every respect, from securing the community and its people to completing necessary paperwork at the station, concluded Daniels.

• Date Taken: 10.25.2008
• Date Posted: 10.25.2008 11:38
• Story ID: 25551
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ