Photo By 1st Sgt. Brent Williams | The Al Dora/Al Bayaa Police Station was devastated after a vehicle-borne...... read more read more
BAGHDAD --The structure stands as an endearing symbol of the Iraqi police's dedication and commitment to the citizens of the Al Dora and Al Bayaa neighborhoods; painted flat white with blue trim, it is pock-marked with the scars of vehicle-borne improvised-explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire.
Despite several attacks against the police station in southern Baghdad, Iraqi police and Coalition Forces have rebuilt the headquarters for the IP who are sworn to protect and serve.
The Multi-National Division " Baghdad's 21st Military Police Company, one of three MP companies attached to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, work with Iraqi police in Al Rasheed and Karradah districts of Baghdad. They bring together all the elements necessary to run a successful police force, said Capt. Sally Gonzales, provost marshal, 4th BCT.
U.S. Army Military Police, deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, work with the Iraqi police on a daily basis to support the most essential of services for the nation's capitol " law and justice.
The Soldiers are providing oversight to help them take the lead, said Gonzales.
There are many different goals to meet. The desired effect is to teach the Iraqi police to coordinate with higher elements and work together, she said. "The IPs are demonstrating daily the ability to rapidly respond to terrorist and criminal activity.
The progress is valuable to the Iraqi police force, which is fighting a faceless enemy in Baghdad, said Staff Sgt. Adam Gossner, squad leader, 21st MP Co. The Iraqi police have, in the past, trained more like a para-military force than the conventional police officer.
"It's really hard for them to do like American policing because they have to roll out in force," said Gossner.
U.S. Police Transition Teams continue to work with the police officers, training them in police techniques as simple as handcuffing and making arrests, he said, to better prepare them for their conventional role.
Gossner, a native of Appleton, Wis., said he is proud of the Soldiers he leads in the personal security detachment and the work they have done with the Iraqi police.
Just a week ago, members of the team, most of them on their second deployment, were working in the stations, training police officers on how combat criminals, roadside bombs and an enemy that indiscriminately kills Baghdad's citizens, he explained.
Traveling from station to station to check on the police force's progress, the Soldiers see first-hand what the Iraqi police face.
Two years ago, Sgt. Gerald Gregory, personal security detail platoon leader, 21st MP Co., conducted sweeps and raids with the mechanized infantry's 1st Cavalry Division in Baghdad and Fallujah.
"This year, we do a lot more administrative work than we are used to," said Gregory, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., of his current role in Operation Iraqi Freedom. "For example, last year I worked at an IP station, and if we went out on patrol, the IPs followed behind. This year, we follow behind the IPs, and they basically handle everything. We just observe how they handle the situation," said Gregory.
The MND-B MPs see a huge improvement in the Iraqi police force currently operating in Baghdad.
"So much," said Gregory, 'that now, the primary responsibility for the military police company is to train key leadership " in the training of Iraqi police officers " to become more self-reliant."
The IPs are training hard to build upon their training and need every bit of their confidence in their capabilities, said Spc. Michael Sward, driver, 21st MP Co., and a native of Lincoln County, Ga. Sward, until recently, was responsible for in-processing new police officers at the station in Al Dora.
"We are training them, building up their tactics, techniques and procedures as far as what to look for: how to conduct and set up their patrols and what to do if they do find an improvised-explosive device."
The recent spate of violence in south and west Baghdad, especially Rasheed's Al Dora neighborhood, is due to terrorists working to undermine the security in the city, said Sward.
"It looks like they are targeting the IPs as well as the U.S. Forces," he added, standing amidst Iraqi police vehicles, many riddled with bullet holes in their doors and windshields. "They are trying to undermine the Iraqi people's confidence in the IPs."
Yet, the Iraqi Police are rising to the challenge, he said.
"They take their bumps and bruises just like we do, but they understand that they have a job to do. So they go straight back out, flood the area where they just got hit, and try to get whoever did it. Their presence says " "Hey we're not going to back down," he added.
Because of this, Sward said he believes the Iraqi police are going to succeed in establishing law and order in Iraq.
"They've got heart. The Iraqi police love their job," he said. "The majority of them are fighting for their families, their communities, where they live. This is their home."
| Date Taken: | 04.24.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 04.24.2006 15:54 |
| Story ID: | 6102 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 167 |
| Downloads: | 26 |
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