Subscribe
PARWAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Afghan national policemen of the Jabal Saraj district in Parwan province, Afghanistan, finished the final portion of their police immersion training, with Task Force Gladius Soldiers, 410th Military Police Company, Nov. 11.
During the target range segment of the training the Soldiers gave in-depth assistance to those on the force in various areas of shooting safety and techniques.
These U.S. Soldiers, assigned to Task Force Cyclone, have worked with the policemen since July and have finished a full training schedule, approximately 30 days in length, and certified training.
The training has been extensive including many parts of policing operations. The men are now trained to a new standard in police capabilities and they are the first in the area to complete the training, said military policeman, Army Sgt. John Newcomb, 1st Platoon, 2nd Squad leader and a resident of Fort Hood, Texas.
When they're certified through our program, it means they're trained up on all advanced police tasks that are available right now. This is because of the new immersion training program that is being introduced throughout Afghanistan, Newcomb said, who led the training.
"This is actually the first ANP station in Parwan province that has undergone this training and things have gone very, very well. They soak up information like sponges. They love it."
The thoughts of the district police chief, Col. Mohammad Azim, were similar on his men's performance throughout the training period.
"They are performing great and they are performing how police are supposed to be performing," said Azim. "It helped them in a lot in different things like building searches and face-to-face combat. They've gained a lot of experience in different areas of training."
Another MP Soldier, Army Cpl. Mona Paul, a resident of Riverside, Calif., said it has been an all new practice for her while training personnel as a non-commissioned officer.
"It's definitely a different experience," said Paul. "When you teach Soldiers as an NCO you just think about what you need to teach. When you teach the ANP you don't really immediately take in account the pauses and breaks you have to take for the translations. We've been really lucky to have really good interpreters with us."
Newcomb gave credit to his team for the hard work they had put into ensuring the policemen were up-to-speed with all the aspects of the training.
"The reason that this mission happens has nothing to do with myself or anyone higher than me. It's all about my team leaders and my Soldiers that make this happen," said Newcomb. "All my Soldiers and NCOs have done a very good job in coming out here and doing the right thing and showing these guys what the right thing is and leading by example."
The policemen got along well and exchanged tactics with the servicemembers of the 410th MPs.
Azim attributed that to the success of the operation.
"It's great working with the coalition forces. We accepted the coalition forces as our friends. Since we are friends we have to share our experience with each other," Azim said.
Paul said what they shared with the police will help them in split-second choices when it comes down to the time to make the right decision.
"We can't teach the local nationals something if the police aren't enforcing it. So we teach them [the police] the basics and what to build on," said Paul. "If they have basics to go off of and we drill it in them enough then it's going to be natural instincts."
Paul also stated the overall mission of coalition forces and the importance of the police knowledge and operational abilities.
The whole reason we're in Afghanistan is to rebuild their economy and their whole infrastructure, said Paul.
Azim has a bright outlook for Afghanistan and hoped the best for those who helped his team become further developed.
"I wish the best for Afghanistan in the future. And I hope all of the Soldiers who helped us stay secure and return home safely," Azim said.
| Date Taken: | 11.11.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 11.16.2009 18:43 |
| Story ID: | 41654 |
| Location: | PARWAN PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 171 |
| Downloads: | 119 |
This work, Policemen emerge from immersion training in Parwan, by SSG William Henry, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
