SAR-E PUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Fifty two Afghan Local Police graduated from the first ALP training class in Sayad district, Sar-E Pul province, Sept. 22.
The ALP will provide a new security capability to the district, and allow them to protect their families and villages from insurgent threat or intimidation.
The graduation ceremony was hosted by district officials and village elders to recognize the successful completion of ALP training. Provincial Gov. Sayed Anwar Rahmati, District Gov. Amir Hussein Sajadi, Provincial Chief of Police Brig. Gen. Yaqoob, as well as numerous other Afghan government officials, village elders and coalition SOF team members attended the graduation.
After the graduation ceremony, the ALP members were paid their first month’s wages, as well as a graduation bonus. Both Afghan government officials and the coalition Special Operations Forces trainers emphasized the importance of recognizing the ALP.
“ALP graduation serves as a catalyst to establish and empower traditional governance at the village level and ties it into the formal mechanisms of the Afghan government at the district and provincial level,” said a coalition SOF team member.
The new ALP members will immediately begin conducting security patrols in their respective villages.