Posted on 09/19/2008 7:03:06 AM PDT by mdittmar
Jubilant Iraqi Police graduates jumped with joy as they graduated from Ashraf Training Center Wednesday in Diyala. There were 704 graduates, including 21 females who were the first women to graduate from the Ashraf facility and join the Iraqi Police.
“They were incredibly happy, jumping and singing about Diyala,” said Scott Johnson of AFN, who helped cover the ceremony.
“This is one of the happiest days of my life. I have always dreamed of becoming an Iraqi Policeman,” said Ali, one of the graduates.
Iraqi Police Maj. Gen. Abdul, acting provincial director of police in Diyala, congratulated the graduates for their commitment to Iraq and for stepping forward to serve their country. He said the Iraqi Security Forces are ready to receive the security for Diyala Province from the Multi-National Forces-Iraq.
The Ashraf Training Center was opened earlier this year to quickly train more police in Diyala to aid in improving security there. The first class graduated May 15.
The students underwent 240 hours of basic recruit training in marksmanship, police operations, human rights, detention and crime scene security.
Following a marching ceremony, the new police demonstrated their skills with a precision drill team, handling a civilian disturbance, working a checkpoint, and searching. A truck was stopped and women police quickly frisked and then handcuffed a woman who was in the truck. Diyala has been the target of many female suicide bombers in recent months.
Maj. Gen. Jerry Cannon, commanding general of the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team for the Directorate of Interior Affairs, said the addition of women police will strengthen the Iraqi Police force and help them save lives.
“This is a wonderful integration of what’s necessary for success in the future for a secure and stable Iraq. Having women in the police will be great for the security. It is a great addition that will allow the Iraqi Police to provide even better security for the people of Iraq,” said Cannon.
Another class of Iraqi Police recruits will start training in October with still more women signing up to serve and protect their country.
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FR War News
DON’T line them up!
http://beta.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2085738/posts
This is an excerpt from the article that can apply to these new recruits as well:
An opposition leader’s (Obama) foreign trips are useful as fact-finding missions. This means that the opposition leader listens to the locals, asks questions, and tries to get the political feel of the place. He is not there to lecture the natives or bad-mouth his own government back home.
Obama might have attended a session of the new Iraqi parliament and congratulated the people of Iraq for defying death to go through one referendum and two general elections to build a new democracy.
He might have visited some of the good work done by over 1.2 million Americans, both military and civilian, who have heroically served in Iraq since its liberation.
He might have visited some of the wounded victims of terrorism, both U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians, to comfort them, and assure them of continued U.S. determination to fight the forces of evil.
He did none of those things during his eight-hour photo-op visit.
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