Courtesy Photo | Col. Samir Murshed Khushid, commandant of the Kirkuk police academy, briefs U.S. Sen....... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Margaret C. Nelson
115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Kirkuk, Iraq – One thousand, three hundred, and eighty two Iraqis begin their morning navigating through check-points: enduring searches. They are as young as 20, traveling by foot, bus, bike - the "lucky" ones by car. Their journey may take up to 3 hours as they come from all over the Kirkuk province in northeastern Iraq. Hesco barriers and concertina wire rise up during their last mile serving as constant reminders of the career path they have chosen, an occupation which has so far claimed the lives of over 800 Iraq police, according to IP provincial statistics.
For 10 weeks, this will be the daily routine for Iraq's Kirkuk police academy recruits.
"The Iraq police force, operated by Iraq's ministry of interior, is the single largest employer here and in Iraq, next to its Army run by the ministry of defense," Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Aker of 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division's Provincial Police Training Team said. There are approximately 7,500 IPs in the province, 200,000 in Iraq. The goal is get the numbers up to 12,000 here according to academy personnel.
During a recent recruiting drive over 5,000 applied for 1,300 slots for classes beginning in mid-February. The numbers were so great that the recruitment was extended from 6 to 15 days or "until there is no one left waiting to turn in an application," Aker said.
"My father passed away in a car accident," Ahmed Sabah Ahmed, a 21-year-old Kurd said. "I need to help support my brother and mother." Ahmed has tried to find a job, but with no skills, he has not been able to find one. "I need a job. The IPs need police. Our country needs security. I will do my part," he said.
Fifteen months ago, only about 100 or so applicants showed up on the first day, according to the 41-year-old Cincinnati native. The quota per recruitment drive is 1,300. "We extended the period to 15 days because of the low numbers," he said. A total of 800 applications were received back then.
Since then, a clamp-down on insurgent activity by the Iraqi government by their army and coalition forces during "the surge" have provided a more secure environment to build up a police force and establish trust with the people, according to Aker. "The people are more confident in their police force," he said. By establishing a safer situation, IP recruitment has grown into a "good problem," Aker said. "We looked at the chaotic application process we had here recently as a bad, good thing. When jobs are scarce, desperation takes over," he said. Case in point: one officer was caught by the academy's staff trying to smuggle his son's application in, according to Akers. An IP on the academy staff brought the officer with the application to a CF trainer who confiscated the shady paperwork and made it known that his son would not be attending the academy. "There will be some bad apples in the bunch," he said.
Aker pointed out that it was an IP who caught another IP cheating and did something about it. The IP who "cheated" will be punished by his superiors according to Aker. "There's going to be favoritism. There will be bribes. Academy staff will not turn a blind eye. We will fix problems that surface," he said. "That is why we are here - why I'm here: to teach what is and what is not accepted in a democratic society."
In a country where jobs are scarce due to instability, standing up a police force is its priority. "Security and jobs go hand-in-hand. Without one there will be no infrastructure. With no infrastructure there will be no jobs," Col. Samir Murshed Khushid, commandant of the Kirkuk Police Academy, said.
"I just graduated from a technical school with a background in accounting. I have looked for a job and cannot find one," Isam Mussa Ali, 23, said. Ali is trying to garner an administrative position with the police force. He has submitted an application for the February session.
| Date Taken: | 12.24.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 12.24.2007 11:14 |
| Story ID: | 14953 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 574 |
| Downloads: | 554 |
This work, Kirkuk IPs: Dangerous, Most Sought After Occupation, by SSG Margaret Nelson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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