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BASRAH — Three days after graduating a multi-week training course, the first Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics Tactical Response Team joined Coalition forces in a joint operation here. The river-focused force filled vital overwatch positions, and maintained active security and communications with Iraqi Police and Army units as well as with Coalition units. “This demonstrates the capability of this force, and how their training prepared them for real-world missions,” said a Coalition advisor to the TRT. The TRT is a new capability for Iraq allowing the Police to have a specially trained cadre skilled in the art of maritime and...

AL-ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq — Marines from 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 and Police Transition Team 4 teamed up Dec. 26 to help Iraqi Police from the Port of Waleed to form good relationships with their new neighbors in the town of Walej. Over the past six months, nomadic shepherds and their families, destitute from drought and disease which ravaged their herds, were forced to move from the desert into the town of Walej. Located in a remote region of western al-Anbar province near the Syrian border, Walej was an Iraqi Army compound prior to 2003. It...

Trainees run ashore after practicing an insert technique during al-Anbar Iraqi River Police training, Lake Thar Thar, Iraq, Dec. 21, 2008. Photo by Cpl. Shawn Coolman, 1st Marine Division Public Affairs. LAKE THAR THAR -- Al-Anbar Iraqi River Police officers aced their final exam. Select Iraqi Policemen here with the Anbar Iraqi River Police force, which was established to patrol the local waterways independently from Coalition forces, finished a week-long certification course, Dec. 21. This was the first class taught by the Navy “River Rats” of Detachment 3, Riverine Squadron 1, Regimental Combat Team 5 on Lake Thar Thar.In this...

RAMADI, Iraq (AFP) — Six Iraqi policemen and seven Al-Qaeda militants were killed when the militants attempted a pre-dawn breakout from a police station in the western city of Ramadi, police said."During an exchange of fire between prisoners trying to escape and police officers in the station, six policemen and seven prisoners were killed," provincial police chief Tareq al-Dulaimi said.Three prisoners managed to escape and one was re-arrested, Dulaimi said, adding that another four policemen were wounded in the shootout that occurred at 2 am (2300 GMT Thursday) at Forsan police station in the centre of Ramadi.Ramadi police have imposed...

Former Sons of Iraq members now serving as an Iraqi policemen in Suleikh speak about the improvements of being an IP versus an SoI while on a break at Joint Security Station Suleikh in northeastern Baghdad, Dec. 21. Photo by Sgt. Zachary Mott. SULEIKH — Fifty former members of the Sons of Iraq program are now protecting the streets of Suleikh wearing the bright blue uniform of Iraqi Police officers. The men, along with more than 400 other former members of the much publicized SoI program from Baghdad’s Adhamiyah District, are now Iraqi policemen charged with protecting the streets and...

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Sgt. Abdul Ibrahim, a U.S. Military Policeman, gives Iraqi Police Capt. Hussain Hawaysh some marksmanship pointers during the Iraqi Police Leadership Development Course, Nov. 26, 2008. Photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs. JSS SULEIKH — Thirteen Iraqi Policemen (IP), a mix of officers and senior sergeants, gathered here in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah District for their final training session, Nov. 26. The men were preparing for a weapons familiarization course prior to graduating from the Iraqi Police Leadership Development Course taught by Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers.“We [the 18th Military Police Brigade] felt that some of the IP...

Iraqi national policemen from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Brigade, 2nd NP Division, Civil Affairs Team, gather with Iraqi children from an elementary school in the Doura community of southern Baghdad Nov. 20. The NPs are part of a freshly formed CA Team created by Soldiers from Company D, 404th Civil Affairs Battalion, attached to the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. U.S. Army photo. FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON — The Iraqi National Police, dedicated to enforcing Baghdad’s rule of law, introduced civil capacity and municipality improvement to their skills set working...

Iraqi children thank an Iraqi Policeman with smiles after receiving a case of bottled water in the 9 Nissan district of eastern Baghdad, Nov. 20, 2008. Photo by Sgt. Jeremy Todd, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs. FOB RUSTAMIYAH — Iraqi Police (IP) officers and U.S. Soldiers attached to 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, teamed up to distribute humanitarian aid to those who needed the assistance in eastern Baghdad, Nov 20. The IP and Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, attached to 4th BCT, 10th...

More than 1000 Sons of Iraq completed their first phase of Iraqi Police Basic Recruit Training, Nov. 6, 2008, at the al Furat Iraqi Police Training. Photo by Lt. Col. Michael Indovina, 18th Military Police Brigade. BAGHDAD — More than 1,000 former Sons of Iraq (SoI) recently completed their first phase of training at the al Furat Iraqi Police (IP) Training Center here. To kick off the program, 608 SoI registered for the training Oct. 31. Now with the first phase of training completed, 1,031 SoI are integrated into the IP training program. The second phase of training began Nov....

JSS HOR AL BASH — Now that the Sons of Iraq have transitioned to Government of Iraq control, many will head to jobs in the Iraqi Army and Police, and recruiting drives are helping to make that a possibility. The most recent recruiting drive occurred Nov. 4 in Hor al Bash, northwest of Baghdad, thanks to the efforts of Soldiers from Company B “Hammer,” 52nd Infantry, attached to 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry “Strykehorse,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. On the recommendations of Sawa sheiks, 186 Sons of Iraq members traveled to here...

HADITHA, Iraq — Some describe Haditha’s police chief, Col. Faroq Taih Hardan, as a heroic figure, and one of the only Iraqis in Haditha willing to stand up to insurgents at the height of violence in the region. Others describe him as a strongman who ignores local laws and uses bullying tactics to advance his own position. Police Transition Team commander Capt. Scott Newton describes Faroq as a "gunslinger" who’s struggling to adapt to a more stable environment. Faroq took charge of Haditha’s police force in 2006, but helped lead the fight against insurgents in the area much earlier than...

CAMP TAJI — Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad (MND-B) hosted an Iraqi Police (IP) recruiting drive here at Combat Out Post Falahat for Sons of Iraq (SoI) members, Oct. 30. Since the government of Iraq (GoI) took control of the SoI, many of its members look to pursue positions with the local IP or elsewhere within the Iraqi security forces (ISF). Coalition forces, along with the GoI, came to an agreement to transition many SoI guards into ISF positions. Local leaders were asked to select potential candidates for the selection process. “We asked the sheiks to select their best...

BAGHDAD — The Iraq ministry of interior’s Division of Border Enforcement graduated 1,538 border police in September, one of its highest monthly graduation rates this year. With the new graduates, the border police surpassed an assigned strength of 43,000. The graduating classes included 1,173 basic recruits. The border police graduates completed specialized skills training such as non-commissioned officer and platoon sergeant schools, and courses in internal affairs, immigration, and patrol tactics. “The Division of Border Enforcement now includes 13 brigades with 51 battalions, along with the Coast Guard for guarding Iraq’s ports and coastline,” said Ashford Mohammed, the DBE’s CPATT/DOIA...

Iraqi Police officers speak to a woman outside the Izza station in al Kut, Sept. 17, 2008. Photo by Sgt. Daniel West, Multi-National Division-Central. FOB DELTA — Iraqi Police (IP) in Wasit province are transforming their force from a paramilitary police force to a more traditional one, changing a structure left over from Saddam Hussein’s regime. The restructuring, a directive from the national ministry of the interior, aims to place IPs in positions to exploit their greatest strengths.“We assign IPs with military backgrounds to the special response teams and the checkpoints,” said Brig. Gen. Alawy Hussein Alsaray. “Those who have...

Jubilant Iraqi Police graduates jumped with joy as they graduated from Ashraf Training Center Wednesday in Diyala.  There were 704 graduates, including 21 females who were the first women to graduate from the Ashraf facility and join the Iraqi Police.“They were incredibly happy, jumping and singing about Diyala,” said Scott Johnson of AFN, who helped cover the ceremony.“This is one of the happiest days of my life.  I have always dreamed of becoming an Iraqi Policeman,” said Ali, one of the graduates.Iraqi Police Maj. Gen. Abdul, acting provincial director of police in Diyala, congratulated the graduates for their commitment to...

BAGHDAD — A large Iraqi security force (ISF) convoy, which included several Iraqi Army Humvees, exited the international zone in Baghdad at midday, Sept. 10, 2008. At the front and back of the convoy was an Iraqi Police (IP) patrol vehicle providing escort security for the convoy. “That says something in itself,” said Capt. Nathan Brookshire, a Military Police commander, while viewing the long line of Humvees exiting the international zone. “Iraqi Police pulling security for an Iraqi Army convoy, you don’t see that every day.” At least you don’t in Baghdad, where until recent months the local populace security...

While a Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier searches a vehicle, an Iraqi policeman pulls security in the northwestern Baghdad community of Ghazaliyah, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2008. Photo by Sgt. Matthew Vanderboegh, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs. BAGHDAD --- During a joint patrol with Iraqi Police, Capt. Michael Kolton, a native of Fairfax Station, Va., stopped to talk with a group of men standing in the shade of a cluster of trees. The conversation went from questions regarding security, to the future of Iraq, elections and the Iraqi Police. “The Iraqi people would rather have Iraqis fix their own problems,”...

BAGHDAD -- A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of Iraqi police recruits, killing 28 people and wounding 45, police said. It was the biggest attack for weeks in Iraq, where which has been enjoying some of its lowest levels of violence in four years. It came amid Iraqi efforts to conclude a security deal with the United States that would allow American forces to leave Iraq by the end of 2011. A police source said the bomber, wearing an explosive vest, struck a large crowd lining up to apply to join the police in the town of...

BAGHDAD — In January 2008, Multi-National Division – Baghdad’s 18th Military Police Brigade developed a new method to further improve the surging Iraqi police force by implementing the enhanced Police Transition Teams to concentrate on supporting IP systems in Baghdad. The ePTT is a group of Soldiers who have subject matter expertise in: personnel, communications and logistic operations and techniques in support of large organizations; their mission is to assess the IP organization and provide assistance to better the organizational management of the IPs in these areas. Since then, the ePTTs have been embedding with the IP force at the...