Sons of Iraq transfer nears completion; focus shifts to job creation
Multi-National Force-Iraq
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
www.mnc-i.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20090311-08
March 11, 2009
Sons of Iraq transfer nears completion; focus shifts to job creation
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
BAGHDAD – The Government of Iraq is preparing to take control of the remaining Sons of Iraq members from coalition forces, and efforts to transition the group’s members into new government jobs are accelerating, Coalition authorities say.
“Now that we’ve got the transfers nearly complete, we are turning our focus to the transition of SOI into jobs,” said Col. Jeffrey Kulmayer, chief of reconciliation, Multi-National Corps – Iraq.
As the Coalition turns over more security responsibilities to the Iraqi government in accordance with a U.S.-Iraq security agreement, assisting in the Sons of Iraq transfer-and-transition process is a key Coalition commitment, Kulmayer said.
On March 1, the Sons of Iraq in Ninewah and Kirkuk provinces transferred to Iraqi government control, and registration began in Salah Ad Din, the last of nine provinces that will transfer members of the group to Iraq. In Diyala province, the Iraqi Army completed its first payday activities for the men there.
In all, 81,773 Sons of Iraq in eight provinces are now under Iraqi control. Salah Ad Din’s remaining 10,000 members will complete their transfer on April 1.
The Sons of Iraq – grassroots security volunteers who assisted Coalition Forces in combating terrorists and criminals in their neighborhoods – have been promised jobs serving the government of the nation they helped secure. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has mandated that 20 percent of the men will join the Iraqi Security Forces. So far, more than 3,000 have joined the Iraqi police, and several hundred more have joined the Iraqi Army and newly formed oil police to protect the critical infrastructure. More than 15,000 additional applications are being processed through the police-hiring pipeline, Kulmayer said.
The other 80 percent of the men will be offered jobs in the government’s various ministries. That process is being led in Baghdad by Zuhair al-Chalibi of the Iraqi government’s Implementation and Follow-Up Committee for Reconciliation. Chalibi’s committee has reviewed most of the job-skills applications from Baghdad’s roughly 48,000 Sons of Iraq, Kulmayer said.
“He’s ready now to start moving them into ministries,” Kulmayer said. “He’s gone out and canvassed some of the ministries. And our pilot project is the ministry of education.”
Kulmayer said several thousand Sons of Iraq in Baghdad were expected to be hired into the ministry of education. Once that is successfully done, the Baghdad model will be exported nationwide.
“Once we get it right with one ministry, we’re going to take that concept to the other ministries and provinces,” he said. For example, the ministry of construction and housing might initiate hiring in the north and the ministry of agriculture or water in the south. “We want to do a single ‘proof of principle’ ministry in each of the major regions, as an exemplar to move forward from,” he said.
At the same time, Kulmayer said the pace of the transition would be measured and prudent, based on the situation on the ground. “Just as the transfer was at a managed pace, the transition will be at a managed pace that ensures we maintain security.”
Paying the Iraqi government’s new employees will not be a problem: The money for all Sons of Iraq employees is already accounted for in the nation’s 2009 budget. Once employed, they will be accounted for under next year’s regular budget.
“It’s a perfect fit,” Kulmayer said. “A system is in place.”
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE MULTI-NATIONAL CORPS – IRAQ PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE BY E-MAIL AT: MNCIPAOVICTORYMAINJO@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL
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