354th MP Company mentors Iraqi Police

News: 354th MP Company mentors Iraqi Police

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs

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Spc. Michael Rogers, of Eldorado, Ill., 354th Military Police Company, attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, teaches riot control techniques to members of the Iraqi army at a range on COB Basra. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Kobernick)

By Staff Sgt. Amanda Kobernick

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq – The soldiers of 354th Military Police Company, attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, are going strong on their mission to help Iraqi police operate their police stations more effectively.

The MP squads visit police stations in the Basra province and provide training courses for Iraqi police officers and the Iraqi Army.

The training consists of crime scene management, room entry procedures, officer safety, and riot control. Soldiers from the 354th MP Company instruct these courses both at COB Basra and Iraqi Police training centers.

“Our police team’s mission is critical to the support and stability of Iraq during this transition. We are teaching them critical skills and compounding the basic skills they possess already, helping them to achieve a more effective and efficient police force in Basra,” said 1st Lt. Angela Smith, commander, 354th MP Company.

Based out of St. Louis, Mo., the 354th MP Company is a reserve unit where many of the soldiers are civilian police officers back home and can share first-hand experiences and knowledge with the Iraqi Police. Having both the skills of a military police officer and a civilian police officer is unique to the Army Reserves.

Thus far, the Iraqi police officers are very impressed with the knowledge and skills these Soldiers have and can relate to their experiences as civilian police officers, said Smith.

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