Iraqi police gain leadership skills

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From left, Pfc. Joseph Johnson, 21, of Dudley, N.C.; Cpl. Daniel Reynolds, 21, of Manchester, N.H.; and Spc. David Taylor, 20, of Concord, N.H., watch as Iraqi officers participate in a team-building exercise during the Iraqi Police Leadership Development Course held recently at Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah. The soldiers are assigned to 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon, 1132nd Military Police Company, 95th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade.


Iraqi police gain leadership skills
By Vince Little, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, February 9, 2008

RUSTAMIYAH, Iraq — Hoping to sharpen skills and spread communication networks throughout mid-level management, the 95th Military Police Battalion conducts a five-day Iraqi Police Leadership Development Course every month on post. The curriculum is centered on several aspects of policing, from prepping for patrols and using proper protective gear to high-risk traffic stops and crime scene procedures. Between 20 and 25 Iraqi police normally attend the course.

“We try to identify the more eager officers who are willing to learn,” said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Johnson, 37, of New Castle, Ind., the noncommissioned officer in charge of the battalion’s police partnership program. “It varies, but we try to select more of the cream of the crop. We give them Western-style management procedures.”

Advanced weapons marksmanship training also is part of the agenda, he added.

Iraqi police come from all over east Baghdad for the lessons, which are taught by U.S. civilians — most of whom worked in law enforcement — who are here as Iraqi police advisers. An Army MP squad provides assistance during the week.

First Lt. Daniel McCarroll, a platoon leader for the battalion’s 1132nd Military Police Company, sent a squad to work with the most recent class. He said many of his soldiers already knew the participants from their police transition team missions at area stations.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52313