Photo By Sgt. Michael Alberts | Lt. Col. Drew Meyerowich, Battalion Commander, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment,...... read more read more
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by Spc. Mike Alberts
3rd BCT, 25th ID PAO
KIRKUK, Iraq – Imagine a city where police didn't investigate crimes for fear their families would be targeted by criminals for retribution. Imagine a city where police refused to leave the station because doing so put their lives at risk? That was Hawija.
Today, international police liaison officers (IPLO) and 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team Soldiers are working together in the district of Hawija to train and teach local police officers how to regain control of their towns and villages one police station at a time.
On Sept. 20, IPLO representatives and 3IBCT "Wolfhounds" of 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment met with Hawija district police chiefs at Forward Operating Base McHenry to continue discussing methods of improving civilian security and keeping the peace in Hawija.
"The IPLO mission here in Iraq is to help mentor and train the Iraqi police (IP), and to assist them in improving their municipal police departments as far as training, acquiring equipment and just getting them working together as a cohesive unit," said Joseph Barbagiovanni, IPLO.
"We want to get the police departments comfortable doing patrols and investigating crimes for the citizens of Hawija," said Barbagiovanni. "When we first got here there was a lot of fear on the part of the IP because of insurgent attacks. With the assistance of the Army, we have been able to improve the IPs patrolling ability and to provide ideas on how to expand patrol tactics to protect the people in Hawija," he said.
On this September day, representatives discussed municipal police station administration procedures and guidelines for police conduct. Attendees also devoted significant attention to ensuring that appropriate accountability exists for officers that don't follow guidelines, among other things.
The IPLO are all former or retired civilian police officers who have volunteered to come to Iraq to assist the United States military in training Iraqi security forces. A significant piece of the security puzzle is the municipal police officers, explained Capt. Jeff Fuller, fire support officer, 2-27.
"A key goal in Iraq is to provide more stability," said Fuller. "Police are the entity that normally keeps the peace in their cities and towns," he said.
"The IPLO are a great asset because you are bringing in guys who really know exactly what a municipal police station must do to operate effectively. They work with, and in some cases live with, the Iraqi police and are our best liaison between us and them so-to-speak in keeping us informed about how we can best work together in joint operations."
"The IPLO are the subject matter experts for police operations," said Major Brian Payne, executive officer, 2-27. "They provide a huge resource of information and experience that covers the gaps that we as Soldiers lack. They have interacted in their capacity as police officers with civilian populations their entire careers. That's why they are so critical to us here," emphasized Payne.
"We [Soldiers] certainly have the capability to do the job, but we don't have the wealth of experience and knowledge that the IPLO have. We simply couldn't do it as well without them," he said.
| Date Taken: | 10.14.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 10.14.2006 09:30 |
| Story ID: | 8020 |
| Location: | KIRKUK, IQ |
| Web Views: | 528 |
| Downloads: | 318 |
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