AL ASAD, Iraq -- With the goal mind of turning over responsibility to the Iraqis, a small detachment led by Marines is here doing their part.
The Al Asad Regional Police and Department of Border Enforcement Academy graduated 69 Iraqis from their police academy today.
The graduates will return to their hometowns and join their local police forces after the intense eight-week course. The police officers have endured “boot camp” style training, with six Marines acting as their squad advisors and 13 civilian Iraqi Police Instructors to teach them the basics of police work, according to Chief Warrant Officer Scott Reinhardt, the director of the Academy and Tappahannock, Va., native.
“Our Marine instructors are the ones who get our ‘recruits’ ready for training,” said Reinhardt, a reservist who is an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “They march the recruits to and from training, take them to chow, get them ready for bed and handle discipline.”
The civilian instructors are Americans who have a background in law enforcement and have volunteered to help the Iraqis develop their police force.
“I got sick of hearing daily how many Iraqi policemen were getting killed everyday. I felt that with my knowledge and experience in law enforcement, I would be able to assist them in their training and teach them some things that could save their lives,” said Tim Sopkovich, firearms and assistant defensive tactics instructor for the police academy.
The Iraqis are very eager to learn, according to the 11-year veteran of the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office SWAT team. The Iraqis are striving to excel in the course to become better policemen.
“The Iraqi police officers watch and follow the instruction very closely,” Sopkovich added. “They want to learn. You can see the determination and the effort they put into their daily training.”
The academy is broken up into two sections. One side of the facility is devoted to the police academy while the border patrol school occupies the other. The Marines assigned to the training center serve in two different capacities at the two schools. The students are mainly taught by Iraqi Police Instructors, while the Marines mainly serve as troop handlers. At the Border patrol school, the same seven Marines teach all the lessons in addition to their duties as disciplinarians.
“Our Marines teach the border patrol school because the curriculum covers a lot of infantry tactics,” Reinhardt said. “Lessons include, patrolling, setting up checkpoints and proper weapons handling.”
For the Marine instructors, training the Iraqis isn’t a burden, they view it as a privilege to help the Iraqis in their quest for stability in their country.
“We are dedicated to our mission,” said Sgt. Michael Miller, police academy advisor and Cambridge, Mass., native. “I love this work. I know the better we train these guys and the faster we can integrate them into their role, the faster our Marines can go home.”
The instructors and advisors have a difficult task when dealing with the Iraqi culture. The language barrier is an issue that sometimes is difficult to overcome, but the staff has learned to adapt.
“The language barrier isn’t as big a problem anymore as one might think,” Miller said. “We have the translators, but still we also pick up on key words that they often use. With that and body language we can generally get our point across.”
The students appreciate the work that the Americans have put in to train them and are excited about using the knowledge they have received.
“I will do my best to apply what I learned and create more stability in my hometown for my wife and three children,” said 1st Lt. Moh`d Sattar, 34, an Iraqi police officer attending the course.
Many of the Iraqis are former police officers who are at the academy to receive better training than what they have had previously.
“The training we received before was nothing compared to what we received here,” said Pvt. Waleed Kalid, 33, Iraqi police officer. “Due to the high combat spirit of U.S. police instructors and their experience in the field, the training is a lot more in depth than anything I had received before.”
The Police Academy graduates understand the sacrifice they are making for a brighter Iraq, for their families and fellow countrymen.
“We understand many Iraqi policemen are getting killed, but we are here to help stabilize our country,” Kalid said. “ It is our responsibility to protect Iraq’s sovereignty and it is the responsibility of everyone who is making our region unstable to quit what they are doing and protect our nation.”
-For more information on this story please contact Cpl. Herron at herronca@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil-