Published: March 24, 2006
First Iraqi Police Graduates Return to Secure Ramadi Neighborhoods
"The conditions we are living in now; with the insurgency and terrorists around us, is no way to live life."
Iraqi Police graduates return to Ramadi to make their neighborhoods safe.
Photo: 2nd Brigade Combat Team |
RAMADI, Iraq - "We are the future of Iraq, each and everyone of us. We believe in our cause. The conditions we are living in now; with the insurgency and terrorists around us, is no way to live life. We will make a difference for our sons and daughters," said a newly appointed Iraqi Policeman, as he stepped off the bus at the Ramadi Glass Factory, on the morning of March 24, 2006.
196 Iraqi Policemen (IP's); known as the Sons of Al Anbar, successfully graduated from the Baghdad Police Academy on March 23, 2006. The Policemen were escorted by bus to the Ramadi Glass Factory where they were greeted by enthusiastic Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces.
This IP class left Ramadi for the Baghdad Police Academy on January 13, 2006, and they represent the first trained group of Iraqi Police Officers to graduate and secure the neighborhoods of Ramadi; a former insurgent stronghold.
Iraqi Police graduates proudly show off their certificates.
Photo: 2nd Brigade Combat Team |
General Sha'aban Muhammed Samier, the Al Anbar Provincial Police Chief, made it a priority of his to personally welcome the Sons of Al Anbar back to the city of Ramadi. "The Iraqi Police has been established to protect the people of this province, and the citizens are supporting the Iraqi Police Force. The Iraqi Police must be successful in order to ensure safety for our elderly, our young children, our women and our families," said General Sha'aban.
"There is no difference between Sunni and Shia, we are all Iraqis. One thing we learned at the police academy is that we must work as one family to win against the insurgency," said a police graduate.
In the coming days, these IP graduates will be measured for their uniforms and will receive the following: work boots, individual body armor and weapons. Additionally, they will receive additional training designed to introduce them to patrolling the neighborhoods of Ramadi.
Photo: 2nd Brigade Combat Team |
"When the buses pulled in this morning I walked up to the first bus, opened the bus door and welcomed home the Sons of Al Anbar. To me, opening that bus door signified opening the door to their futures, and a new start for the Iraqi Police to create a stable and secure environment for their fellow citizens of Iraq," said Capt. Roger Churchwell, a resident of Kansas City, and the Iraqi Police Liaison for the 2/28 BCT.
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