Afghan National Civil Order Police Graduates 321 New Officers

CAMP EGGERS, AFGHANISTAN

07.01.2009

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul Dillard 

NATO Training Mission Afghanistan

CAMP EGGERS, Afghanistan— On June 4, 321 members of the Afghan national civil order police graduated from their 16-week training class to join the officers of the 3rd ANCOP Brigade stationed in Herat, Afghanistan.

Brig. Gen. Aftakhri, commander of the 3rd Brigade, spoke during the graduation and asked his new officers to do the right thing at all times. He reminded them that the public would be watching them and ANCOP was expected to set the example for others to follow.

ANCOP receives some of the most intense training available to police in Afghanistan. In the 16 weeks of training, ANCOP Urban Units receive specialized crowd-control training while ANCOP Rural Units receive specialized patrol tactics training. The courses are taught by International Police Advisers and the U.S. military.

The mission of ANCOP is essential to police reform and counter-insurgency in Afghanistan and is two-fold. Units are divided into two main types: Urban and Rural Units. Urban units establish law and order in population centers, while Rural Units work in high-risk rural areas. ANCOP companies also provide coverage for police districts when Afghan Uniformed Police rotate into Regional Training Centers for Focused District Development training.

With the newly-graduated battalion joining the 3rd Brigade, 16 ANCOP battalions have been fielded, with a target end strength of 5,365 personnel by January 2010, consisting of four brigades; one Urban Brigade (Kabul) and three Rural Brigades (Kandahar, Adraskan, Zurmat) totaling twenty battalions (8 Urban/12 Rural).

In his keynote address, U.S. Army Colonel Stephen Yackley, the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan Deputy Commander for Police Development, told the recent graduates, "as you prepare to report to your assignment, always remember that ANCOP are the best police force in Afghanistan. Your fellow countrymen know it, and soon the enemies of peace and stability will know it."

• Date Taken: 07.01.2009
• Date Posted: 07.01.2009 14:41
• Story ID: 35855
• Location: CAMP EGGERS, AF