ALBU FARAJ, Iraq, Jan. 16, 2007 -- In a way, the soldiers who live, eat and work at the Albu Faraj Iraqi police station are like older brothers to the newly minted policemen. The Police Transition Team is there for guidance - to back up the Iraqis and teach them a few things. And much like a younger brother hanging out with his older, more experienced sibling, the policemen want to prove themselves to the soldiers. The ultimate goal being, for both parties, a functioning, independent police force. As sheiks join together with coalition forces to fight insurgents in Jazeera, which is just across the Euphrates from Ramadi proper, Iraqi police stations get set up in the tribal neighborhoods, complete with transition teams to help the police get started. At Albu Faraj, the team is originally an artillery platoon with Task Force 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment. When the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division moved from Tal Afar to Ramadi in October, the platoon became police advisers and moved into the old stone house that is the station. The soldiers live in two rooms, one upstairs and one down, crammed with bunk beds. The living conditions are sparse, cold and fairly dark. But the upstairs room has a large television hooked up to a satellite. Piled next to the fridge are stacks of Gatorade and juice boxes, and they often microwave mini frozen pizzas for lunch. They can get take-out dinners down the street at Forward Operating Base Blue Diamond. Last week, in the hallway outside the soldiers room upstairs, an Iraqi police lieutenant was angrily talking to a policeman whose pistol wasnt working. The lieutenant wanted to fire him. Sgt. Jason Taylor, 28, had to intercede. He showed the lieutenant that the gun had just malfunctioned and explained it happened every once in a while with that type of pistol. Also in the curriculum: how to fill out police reports and have an efficient filing system. Before it was I have it in my head, and if you need to know something you have to come find me, said Taylor, of Roswell, N.M. When not on patrol, the police transition team often becomes the complaint department. The colonel of the Albu Faraj station goes to 1st Lt. Victor Somnuck, 24, of Miami, who heads up the transition team, with his gripes about pay, ammunition and supplies. |