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V CORPS HELPS TRAIN FIRST GRADUATES OF BAGHDAD POLICE ACADEMY

V Corps Release

Release Date: 7/17/2003

By Spc. Kristopher Joseph V Corps Public Affairs Office

BAGHDAD, IRAQ -- Units under V Corps command helped the effort to improve security in Baghdad reach another milestone this week as the first class of Iraqi policemen graduated from a three-week training course at the Baghdad Public Safety Academy.

As part of the culmination of a Transition Integration Program called the "Class of Freedom," approximately 100 Iraqi law enforcement officers were presented graduation certificates by some of the coalition's top leaders, including Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, the Coalition Provisional Authority.

The purpose of the program is to introduce and improve human rights, democratic policing principles and modern policing techniques to Iraqi police. The course covered 38 law enforcement subjects that focused on international standards for human rights, procedures, and laws of arrest and detention.

"This course was a great benefit to us," said one Iraqi policeman. "It was a great feeding of knowledge and a good start for a beautiful future."

U.S. Army Reserve MPs of the 382nd Military Police Detachment in San Diego, Calif., oversaw the course. The goal of the course, said Capt. Jason Brandt, the 382nd commander, was to change the Iraqi police mindset from "reactive" to "proactive;" to get Iraqi officers out on the streets, rather than waiting for something to happen.

Brandt said attendance for the next class is expected to double.

The policing of Baghdad is largely led by the commander of V Corps' 18th Military Police Brigade, Col. Teddy R. Spain. Spain said one of the keys to the future of Iraq lies within the police force.

Revitalizing and improving that force is the 18th's responsibility. With roughly 5,100 soldiers now in the Middle East, the brigade's MPs are working side by side with the Iraqi police, and have 34 police stations manned with joint U.S.-Iraqi police forces.

Bernard Kerik, former New York City police commissioner and senior policy advisor for Iraq's recently reorganized Ministry of Interior, was one of the distinguished guests in attendance. In his remarks at the graduation, Kerik called the Iraqi police the "one set of people that walks the fence of freedom in Iraq."

"It is definitely the guys on the ground making all this happen," Spain said. "We are proud to work alongside (the Iraqi police)."