A quarter of the officers I work with, including me, have been in the service and know the differences. The police are a unique organization sharing some similiarities as the military, such as uniforms, command and rank structure, ceremony and some equipment. Their mission statements and methods are different, should remain so and with good reason.
The police should not be soldiers and soldiers should not be police. This violates Posse Comitatus.
Our soldiers should not be policing Iraqi citizens period. This nation is confused and on the wrong track when we send our warfighters to go and try an be the police with very little training and practical experience of dealing with LE issues.