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WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2007 – Iraqi soldiers and police are doing their part to help secure Baghdad against terrorists as additional U.S. and Iraqi troops flow into the capital city, a senior U.S. military officer told reporters today. “The Iraqi security forces are making significant strides” in support of Operation Law and Order, Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad. Odierno cited a weekend operation in which Iraqi planes airlifted fresh Iraqi troops into Baghdad. That mission showcased “a high level of coordination and planning,” he said. In addition, Iraqi police...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2006 – About 92 percent of Iraq’s 188,000 Ministry of Interior forces now are trained and equipped, and all Iraqi National Police soon will receive new official uniforms, the commander of the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team told Baghdad reporters today. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson reported major strides in preparing Iraq’s police elements for their security mission. Among Iraqi police, the largest group of Interior Ministry forces, about 90 percent are trained and 83 percent equipped, he reported. Those operating in nine key Iraqi cities U.S. forces have been working with are about 99 percent equipped....

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2006 – Afghan security forces are making tremendous strides, but challenges remain, the lead U.S. trainer for the force said today. Army Maj. Gen. Robert Durbin, commander of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, speaks to Pentagon reporters July 13. Photo by Helene C. Stikkel.   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Maj. Gen. Robert Durbin, commander of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, said numbers for both the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police are on track. Equipment is flowing to the entities, and efforts are in place to "professionalize" both forces, the general...

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2006 – Training Iraqi police forces is the most important job in Iraq today, but it is also the most difficult, a senior military police officer involved in that training said today. "Our goal in theater is to have 135,000 trained and resourced Iraqi police officers working on the streets within the 18 provinces by the end of the year," Army Col. Rod Barham, commander of 49th Military Police Brigade, said from Baghdad in a satellite news conference with reporters in the Pentagon. The 49th, a California National Guard unit, is responsible for training police at the...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2006 – The past year has yielded major growth in Iraqi security forces and significant political progress in Iraq's Anbar province, and 2006 will give the people there a chance to enjoy the benefits of that progress, a top U.S. commander in Iraq said today. In April, only two Iraqi army brigades were operating in Anbar, and now there are two divisions that comprise almost 20,000 soldiers, Marine Maj. Gen. Stephen Johnson, commander of Multinational Force West and 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), said while briefing Pentagon reporters via satellite. Iraqi army battalions are bearing an increasingly...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2005 – A program designed to help wounded veterans find meaningful civilian jobs is paying off by enabling some to use their military expertise to ensure their former comrades are getting the quality weaponry they need in combat. Since becoming a partner in the Defense Department's "Hire a Hero" program last summer, the Defense Contract Management Agency has hired five permanent employees as well as two volunteers who lend their talents while undergoing rehabilitation, Nancy Adams, the agency's program director, told the American Forces Press Service. DoD established the program last December to encourage agencies to develop...

Camp Blue Diamond, Ar Ramadi, Iraq (Nov. 2, 2005) -- The 2nd Marine Division is progressively receiving the additional combat power that its commanders have requested to conduct the counter-insurgency operations in the Al Anbar province. The new battalion-sized units flowing into the Western Euphrates River Valley are from the newly trained Iraqi Army. This is a significant change compared to the number of available Iraqi Army units when the 2nd Marine Division took over from 1st Marine Division in March of this year. At that time, only Fallujah and Ramadi had any Iraqi Army or Public Order Brigade presence....