Shoot House under One Man Construction

Photo By Staff Sgt. Sj Duga | Arron Postma is the sole builder designer fabricator of a new shoot house in Irbil Iraq for IPs  

IRBIL, IRAQ

06.05.2006

Courtesy Story

345th Public Affairs Detachment

Irbil, Iraq (June 1, 2006) --One Soldier goes out of his way by taking the initiative to build a structure so that the Iraqi police have a place where they can be trained.

Pfc. Aaron Postma, IP trainer, 549th Military Police Company located in Irbil, Iraq, and a native of Gunnison, Mich., has taken on a one-man crusade of building a bigger and better 'shoot-house" to train the Iraqi police.

"When I got here I noticed that the existing shoot-house was falling apart because it is only made of reinforced sand barriers," said Postma. "So I had some lumber shipped to the range and then started building a new range."

The new shoot house will sit between two firing lanes in the middle of the range that was just completely rebuilt by Postma and his team.

"It has taken me a long time to build it because it is hard to coordinate getting the tools I need, and any extra materials," he said "The hardest thing is finding time during my busy day to dedicate myself to working on it."

According to Postma, at first glance the shoot-house looks like a yard shed under construction. When the shoot-house is finished it will have multiple doors, long hallways, and several rooms, and will be a very impressive training house where the IP's can learn basic techniques when entering a building.

I have no doubt that the new shoot-house will improve the level of training that the IP's receive," said Postma. "I am making it my personal goal to make sure that the shoot-house is completed, and being used before I leave at the end of my deployment."

• Date Taken: 06.05.2006
• Date Posted: 06.05.2006 10:27
• Story ID: 6658
• Location: IRBIL, IQ