Free Republic

KUT, Iraq, Dec. 9, 2005 – With its 9,800-foot runway, one of Saddam Hussein's premier air bases was in Kut, Iraq, near the Tigris River midway between Baghdad and Kuwait. Today, the coalition defense team has commandeered the base's strategic position. The U.S. Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence contracted with ECC International a year ago to build an Iraqi police cadet academy at Kut. With Iraq's training needs critical to the U.S. mission's eventual completion, the site has morphed into a triple training facility. Recruits for the Department of Border Enforcement have now begun training at Kut, as have...