Police graduate from Tal Afar Academy
Army News Service
Release Date: 11/06/2003
By Pfc. Mary R. Xenikakis
TAL AFAR, Iraq (Army News Service, Nov. 6, 2003) - Another trained group of police graduated from the Tal Afar Police Academy in northern Iraq Nov. 3.
Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) helped teach the 171 graduates who are now ready to join the new Iraqi police force.
The graduating class marched, in a uniform manner, up to the podium in front of the police academy to receive diplomas and police arm bands.
Lt. Col. Christopher Pease, commander, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), was a guest speaker at the graduation.
"This is an important day for your families, your towns and Iraq as a whole," he said. "You selected men are now at the forefront of a new endeavor."
Newly appointed police officers went through many levels of training to bring them to their graduation day. They had to pass weapons familiarization, riot control, physical fitness, and human ethics along with many other classes.
"These lessons in ethics, police work and values you have learned in the past few weeks will assist you in developing your attitude and professionalism," Pease told the men standing in front of him.
"About half of the 171 police who graduated already have jobs with police stations throughout the area. The other half need to find jobs," said Spc. John Smerbeck, a police academy instructor and soldier with the 1-187th Inf. Regt. He said there are local police stations that have been taking applications and hiring these trained police.
The 1st Bn. of the 187th Inf. Regt. and the local police who work at the academy will not train another group of police cadets until the end of Ramadan.
(Editor's note: Spc. Mary Rose Xenikakis is a member of the 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)
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