Anbar Sons of Iraq transfer complete
Multi-National Force-Iraq
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
www.mnc-i.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20090209-07
Feb. 9, 2009
Anbar Sons of Iraq transfer complete
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
BAGHDAD – Anbar’s Sons of Iraq joined thousands of other members across the country Feb.1 and transferred from the Coalition forces to the responsibility of the Iraqi government.
The transfer has special significance in Anbar, a western Iraqi province where authorities say violent insurgent groups like al-Qaeda once controlled the populace with fear.
“That’s where it started,” said Col. Jeffrey Kulmayer, chief of reconciliation for Multi-National Corps – Iraq. It was in Anbar in the fall of 2006 where the “Sahawa,” or Awakening movement, first established local tribal-led security forces to pursue the fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq.
In June 2007, Coalition forces began entering into security contracts with Awakening volunteers, creating the Sons of Iraq. The movement grew rapidly throughout the country, speeding the nation’s return to peace and stability.
“Unlike the other eight provinces where the Iraqi Army is taking control of the men, in Anbar, the Sons of Iraq are transferring to the Iraqi Police,” Kulmayer said.
That’s because the security volunteers in Anbar forged a close relationship with the local police forces early on in their operations, Kulmayer said.
Anbar’s Sons of Iraq will be officially recognized in an Iraqi-led transfer ceremony later this month. Today, more than 4,900 SoI continue to serve in the province.
The progress in Anbar is part of a larger plan to transfer the nation’s nearly 94,000 Sons of Iraq over to the government and give them new opportunities to serve their country. The plan, which is moving ahead smoothly, is another sign of Iraq’s progress toward peace and self-government, said Maj. Gen. Michael Ferriter, MNC-I’s deputy commanding general of operations.
“This is truly the leading edge of reconciliation in a nation that saw so much discord and distrust under the old regime,” Ferriter said.
More than 74,000 Sons of Iraq have been transferred already, with the other 20,000 in Ninewah, Kirkuk and Salah Ah Din provinces set to become Iraqi responsibility by April 1. In Baghdad, where nearly 51,000 Sons of Iraq reside, the men are set to receive their fourth paychecks from the government.
That trend is set to continue next in Diyala province, where coalition leadership held their final pay coordination meeting Feb. 5 with representatives of the Sons of Iraq, the 5th Iraqi Army Division and the Baghdad government.
“It’s the first Iraqi-led payday in Diyala,” Kulmayer said. “We expect the men to be paid beginning Feb. 20.”
Kulmayer said paying the men is just the beginning of the Iraqi government’s commitment to the Sons of Iraq. They will also receive assistance transitioning into future livelihoods, with 20 percent of the men slated for service in the army or police.
“We’re continuing to develop other avenues of employment, through the Iraqi Civil Service Corps and a whole panoply of jobs- and skills-training programs,” Kulmayer said.
Those alternatives include microgrants of up to several thousand dollars for Sons of Iraq members to set up small-business ventures to benefit themselves and their communities. Eighty-nine grants have already been given out in Baghdad.
“There’s another 118 of these microgrants pending,” Kulmayer said .
Such local successes in the Sons of Iraq transition would pay off in major advances nationwide, Kulmayer said.
“This is a crucial measure of reconciliation and a sign of things returning to normal in Iraq,” he said.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE MULTI-NATIONAL CORPS – IRAQ PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE BY E-MAIL AT: MNCIPAOVICTORYMAINJO@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL
FOR THIS PRESS RELEASE AND OTHERS, VISIT WWW.MNC-I.COM
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