49th Military Police Brigade Holds Symposium on Future of Iraqi Police Training

Photo By Staff Sgt. Edward Siguenza | Brig. Gen. Donald Currier, commander of the 49th Military Police Brigade, and Brig. Gen. Michael Smith, Iraq Training and Advisory Mission, United States Forces-Iraq, explain mission responsibilities during the April 2 Police Transiton Team Synchronized Symposium sponsored by the 49th at Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Iraq.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

04.14.2010

Story by 1st Lt. William Marquez 

49th Military Police Brigade

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The 49th Military Police Brigade headquarters company, of Fairfield, Calif., hosted a symposium at Camp Victory on the responsible drawdown of the Police Transition Team mission here. Military Police leaders and State Department officials participated in the two-day event.

The 49th, commanded by Brig. Gen. Donald Currier, is directing the PTT mission in Iraq for a second time. In 2005 and 2006, in what the Coalition Forces termed, "The Year of the Police," the 49th, and active and reserve military police companies from all over the United States under the command of the 49th, trained more than one hundred thousand Iraqi police officers serving in every province of Iraq. Then Col. Currier was a Deputy Commander of the 49th in 2005 and 2006, in charge of PTT operations.

Currier opened the PTT conference by discussing the development of the Iraqi police. "The police of today are different than the police of 2006. The Iraqi police have significantly improved. The planners and operators who worked on PTT are the reason for this difference," said Currier.

In his opening statement, Currier established the main theme of the conference. "We're here to discuss how we can continue the success of Iraqi police training while we are withdrawing the last military police brigade from Iraq," said Currier.

Primarily responsible for training, advising, and assisting the Iraqi police at the local and provincial levels, the 49th and its dozens of subordinate military police companies will be the last brigade solely responsible for the PTT mission in Iraq. Once the 49th returns home later this summer, the continued development of the Iraqi police will become the responsibility of Advisory and Assistance Brigades, and officials from the State Department and the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission.

Building on Brig. Gen. Currier's opening statement, Lt. Col. David King, the operations officer for the 49th, emphasized the importance of carefully managing the drawdown of the PTT mission. "Because of the drawdown of forces, not all police partnerships can endure. We need to help our successors identify which partnerships they should keep," said King.

According to Maj. Mario Morales, 49th liaison officer to the 1st Armored division, United States Division-Center, maintaining relationships with key Iraqi Police departments and officials are very important to preserving awareness of the security environment in Iraq.

"The partnerships that grew out of the PTT mission will allow commanders of Advisory and Assistance Brigades to measure the pulse of Iraqi communities. If you cut police partnerships, you lose intelligence. You lose open communication," said Morales.

Col. Peggy Combs, Chief of Staff of ITAM, believes the partnerships with the Iraqi police that the 49th helped build during two Operation Iraqi Freedom tours, will not necessarily be severed. However, the visits to police stations will be less frequent and will most likely take place at the headquarters level.

"The relationships the military police established will not disappear. We will return to our Iraqi partners on a habitual basis. We will keep reaching out to targeted areas, but we will not have the resources to touch them every day," said Combs.

For Combs, the future of US relationships with Iraqi police will focus on specialized training. "The planned initiatives are all about specialization. We've given the Iraqi police a shovel to assist them, now we want to give them a sharpened axe," said Combs.

Lt. Col. McHugh, commander of the 151st Military Police Battalion, a subordinate battalion in the 49th, is giving the Iraqi Police in his area of operations the "sharpened axe" Col. Combs is promoting. Through Task Force CLEAT (Combined Law Enforcement Against Terrorism), McHugh's military police assist American civilian law enforcement professionals as they work with Iraqi Police investigators on the investigations of serious crimes.

"CLEAT mentors Iraqi law enforcement investigators. We've seen them grow as investigators and professionals. They are enthusiastic about investigating kidnappings, murders, and drug trafficking," said McHugh.

Brig. Gen. Currier believes Task Force CLEAT is an excellent example of how the 49th Military Police Brigade is setting conditions that will help the Iraqi Police continue to progress. For Currier, operations like CLEAT provide a promising future for Iraqi police training, because it builds upon the specialized training the Iraqi police receive at their police academies.

"We need to push for field training programs that implement what is learned at police training centers. Partnered training in an operational environment, focusing on advanced investigative work, will help the Iraqi Police reach the next level," said Currier.

Currier ended the conference by encouraging the attendees to stay committed to the challenging and important work of police training.

"Use the remaining time to bring home all our efforts. We've made tremendous progress over the last four years. We need to finish strong and help set the foundation for future Iraqi police success," said Currier.

• Date Taken: 04.14.2010
• Date Posted: 04.16.2010 11:56
• Story ID: 48239
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ