Iraqi Police Recruits receive Basic Skills Training

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class David Benamati | Sgt 1st Class Joseph E. Evans of 3rd Brigade Military Transistion Team is the small arms instructor for the Iraqi Police Basic Skills Training at Forward Operation Base Qayyarah West, Iraq.  

QAYYARAH, IRAQ

03.21.2006

Courtesy Story

345th Public Affairs Detachment

by Sgt. 1st Class David P. Benamati
138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

QAYYARAH WEST BASE COMPLEX, Iraq (Mar. 13, 2006) - Iraqi police recruits come to Q - West to receive basic skills training before they go to police academies. There they receive training which will help them succeed as police officers in northern Iraq.

U.S. Army Sgt 1st Class Joseph E. Evans of Columbus, Ohio, was put in charge of developing and running an Iraqi Police Basic Skills Training course by 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Commander, Lt. Col. Scott Wuestner. Evans had experience in police training before he joined the U.S. Army.

"Before, Iraqi police were just a reactive police force where they would sit in the police station and wait for something to happen," said Evans. "Now we teach them to be a proactive police force, to go out into the community and to stop crime before it happens."

With limited supplies and facilities, Evans has developed a course of training which consists of 11 days of basic police training. The recruits are taught subjects such as first aid, Iraqi law, the Iraqi Constitution, prisoner handling, and physical fitness.

"It used to be when someone wanted to become a police officer, they would be given a uniform and a handgun and told "now you are a policeman, go get the bad guys"," said Evans. "There are policemen who have been on the force for seven years and have never fired their weapon until yesterday at our range. They never took the weapon apart so they never were able to perform proper maintenance."

Evans and his team teach handgun marksmanship and proper weapons cleaning and maintenance. According to Evans, the length of the next class will be extended to 21 days so that the recruits can be given more in-depth training before they go to a police academy, whether it is the Jordanian International Police Training Center, the Mosul Public Service Academy or the Baghdad Police Academy.

"Our goal here is that they have the basic skills of a police officer and perform in an exercise and do well until they go to a police academy," said Evans.

• Date Taken: 03.21.2006
• Date Posted: 03.21.2006 12:18
• Story ID: 5797
• Location: QAYYARAH, IQ