Thanks, Tonkin!
Posted on 09/29/2003 10:39:23 AM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
Unified public safety academy launches after one-year in development
MOSUL, Iraq (Sept. 27, 2003) – A new academy designed to combine training facilities for all public safety agencies throughout Mosul opened Saturday.
The Mosul Public Safety Academy will house the training for all public safety occupations in Mosul, including law enforcement, fire fighting, emergency medical assistance, traffic violations, investigations and traffic investigations. Before this academy, public safety training sites were scattered around the city. A unified school ensures all students receive similar, equal training.
One year and more than $100,000 was spent building the academy.
A host of leaders of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and from the Mosul government came to applaud those involved in the academy construction and offer their godsends to the students.
Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Khasro Goran, Mosul’s deputy mayor led the ceremonial ribbon-cutting which marked the opening of the academy.
“These facilities are representative of what you’ll find in other parts of the world,” said Col. Joseph Anderson, commander, 2nd Brigade, 101st Abn. Div. “This academy will contribute greatly to the safety of the people in Iraq.”
The academy’s first class will teach students basic law enforcement. Other courses will begin soon after, said 1st Lt. Daniel Oh, logistics officer, 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne).
“Soldiers from the 158th MP Detachment, National Guard, did a lot of the training. A lot of them had full-time jobs as policemen, so a lot of the training is modeled after American law enforcement,” Oh said. However, soldiers are beginning to step out of the trainers’ shoes and allow Iraqi police veterans to train students. This is part of the collective effort by Coalition Forces to bring a sense of independence and self-sufficiency to the people of Iraq.
“The goal of the American forces is to have them self-sufficient,” Oh said. “I’m sure they want their own country again. Iraqi police have taken full control of the training.”
The facility includes a barracks, a dining facility, a gym, a headquarters building, training areas and several classrooms.
Construction of the academy began over a year ago but was halted during the war. In August, Coalition Forces continued construction efforts. More than $100,000 was spent on renovations, Oh said.
The 926th Engineers Battalion and the 503rd MP Bn. were at the helm of the construction efforts, Oh said.
Additions to the academy will continue. Indoor and outdoor shooting ranges and a shoot-house are among the future projects expected to be built. Once complete, the academy will have the capacity to train 450 students at any given time, Oh said.
The opening of the academy coincides with a recent three-day seminar at the Civil Military Operations Command for leaders of the Mosul Police Department. At the seminar, leaders were taught such topics as religious tolerance to help make the public safety system in Mosul impartial and ethical.
“It’s important that you all understand the big picture of where your country is headed,” said Anderson on the first day of the seminar, discussing leadership techniques. “We as your coalition partners remain dedicated to your development and, more importantly, to your independence. But things are coming back into your hands, and responsibility is being turned back over to you, the leaders of a new Iraq. Be fair and be honest. There’s no substitute.”
Freedom and equality are the foundations for the dream Coalition Forces have for the new Iraq, said Inspector Younis Mahmoud Kareem, academy training supervisor. A firm public safety system in Mosul is the root that guarantees these foundations, he said.
“This academy paves a bright, secure future for many,” said Inspector Younis Mahmoud Kareem, academy training supervisor. “The students at this school, they will learn that everybody has rights and nobody should be oppressed. They will learn and know that everyone is equal and we all have the right to be treated with respect.”
Post-Saddam, Iraq-ization police academy, ping!
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Amen.
Well this lights up my whole day.
Bump!
Affected me that way, too, McGavin. Many of Saddam's former employees are most grateful that Saddam's gone.
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