Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20080907-07
Sept. 7, 2008

Iraqi Police continue to grow in northwest Baghdad

Multi-National Division – Baghdad

BAGHDAD – During a joint patrol with Iraqi Police Aug. 29, Capt. Michael Kolton, with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Multi-National Division – Baghdad, stopped to talk with a group of men standing in the shade of a cluster of trees. The conversation went from questions regarding security, to the future of Iraq, elections, and the Iraqi Police.
 
“The Iraqi people would rather have Iraqis fix their own problems,” said Kolton, the Fairfax Station, Va., native. “We realize that the Iraqi people need to do this on their own.”
 
Less than a year ago, the IP force was no more than a dream in Ghazaliyah. The police force has developed from its infancy of the first academy graduates in January to becoming a force multiplier to the squadron in Ghazaliyah.
 
“They are the symbol for peace,” said Ali, a local convenience store owner. “It is much different from a year ago. Back then, there was so much fighting. You did not know where it was safe. Now, I know that if I am threatened that I can go to them.”
 
The success of the police certainly did not come easy. As with any fledgling organization, it needed time to develop. Much like the Iraqi Army, the solution to mentor and foster cooperation was to co-locate the IPs with MND-B Soldiers. Being close neighbors who share the same buildings and living space hasbrought the two security forces together to accomplish the same mission.
 
“We have developed a good relationship. The officers are very interested in learning,” said 1st Lt. Michael Brabner, a platoon leader with Troop B, 1-75th Cav. Regt., 2nd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. “The fact that we are co-located and share the same living quarters has a lot to do with it.

“They have definitely helped out with security and they will continue to grow into bigger missions,”the Pullman, Wash., native said. “Eventually, they will be just like the American police; just cops patrolling the beat.”
 
Now five months later, vast improvements have been made by the police force.
 
“The Iraqi Police have made a lot of improvements,” said Pfc. Travis Stender, a native of Springfield, Ill, “Five months ago, they did not do much. They were late to guard shifts. It was difficult to get them to patrol with us. Now they are on time, and they go out whenever we do.”
 
The fate of the Iraqi Police lies within the hands of the police themselves. Their willingness to learn and continue to grow and adapt will help mold their future with the Iraqi Security Forces and their credibility with the Iraqi people, said Mustafa, an Iraqi Policeman.

“There are still some bad people in the police, and it hurts our credibility,” he said. “We have to prove to the Iraqi people that we are here to protect and serve them.”
 
Plans are underway to increase the amount of police on the streets. As the IPs are given more authority in the neighborhoods, so will their control over the region. Iraqi people having Iraqis fix their own problems will become a viable solution to ensuring peace within the region.

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