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1st AD Soldiers work with Iraqi police on training, procedures , counterinsurgency
Soldiers with 501st Military Police Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Armored Division, completed their first week as advisers at the Criminal Justice Center on Camp Liberty June 3.
Established by previous military police units, the Criminal Justice Center is a place where U.S. forces, international police advisers and seasoned Iraqi police work together to ensure up-to-date, accurate training is administered to less experienced Iraqi officers.
Each organization works together and shares experiences, with the Iraqis ultimately responsible for the course.
“In past experiences, we were in charge of training, [but now] the IP are in charge,” said Sgt. 1st Class Charles Garmany, a Fort Mill, S.C., native and the 501st MP Co. noncommissioned officer in charge at the Criminal Justice Center.
Four classes are offered: human rights, officer development, counterinsurgency and train-the-trainer.
Iraq’s Ministry of Interior creates their own criteria for the courses, ensuring the content meets Iraqi standards, and instructors hope to get approved for even more courses in the future, said Garmany.
As part of their advisory role, the military police and international police are working to show the Iraqis methods and techniques used in different fields, added Garmany.
“The American troops and the [International Police Advisers] give advice about training,” said an Iraqi police officer and instructor at the center.
Garmany said during a previous deployment, scheduled training was hard to come by, and it was difficult for policemen to retain new information.
Being constantly concerned about terrorists or enemy attacks was not conducive to a learning environment.
Looking at Iraq now he can see the positive impact U.S. and Iraqi forces have made in securing the region.
“It’s satisfying to see them in an environment they can actually learn in now,” said Garmany.
Another adviser at the Criminal Justice Center, Pfc. Stevie Dewey, a policewoman with 501st MP Co. and a Cedar Falls, Iowa, native, discovered an added bonus to working at the school, as she gets the opportunity to interact with Iraqis every day and gets to know them on a personal level.
“They’re just as curious about us as we are about them,” Dewey said. “They want to learn and are curious about what it’s like to be a police officer in the States and a military police officer.”
