Published: February 21, 2008
IP Cadre Training Recruits to Become Future Police
By Sgt. Daniel Blottenberger
An Iraqi police recruit talks to an IP cadre member about a weapon malfunction while attempting to fire during a familiarization range at the Furat Iraqi Police Training Academy Feb. 19. The familiarization range was part of the two weeks of Basic Recruit Training that all IP must go through to become an IP. The first class of recruits is preparing for graduation from the Furat IP Training Academy.
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CAMP VICTORY, Iraq - More than 1,000 Iraqi Police recruits cycled through the small-arms range at the Furat Iraqi Police Training Academy here Feb. 19.
The IP cadre jumped from recruit to recruit while providing assistance to those on the range; for many of them, the event was the first time they had the opportunity to fire their assigned weapons.
Thus it went throughout the day as the new recruits underwent weapon familiarization, which is but one of many tasks recruits receive instruction on during their IP Basic Recruit Training.
An Iraqi police cadre member watches on as an Iraqi police recruit fires at a target Feb. 19 at the Furat Iraqi Police Training Academy. The familiarization range was part of the two weeks of Basic Recruit Training that all IPs must go through to become an IP. The first class of recruits is preparing for graduation from the Furat IP Training Academy.
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"With IP cadre overseeing the training, the day went by without incident," said Sgt. 1st. Class Stephen Horn, noncommissioned officer in charge of the Furat IP Training Academy. Horn is a Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier assigned to the18th Military Police Brigade.
"Things are going a lot better then day one here," said Horn, a military police Soldier and a native of Forest, Miss., who said he has seen vast improvements in the training once the IP cadre arrived from the Provincial Directorate of Police, Patrol Headquarters Baghdad.
"The IP cadre are doing a very good job keeping things organized and keeping the recruits motivated," said Horn.
IP recruits hustle off the firing line at the Furat Iraqi Police Training Academy weapons firing range Feb. 19. The weapons familiarization range was part of the two weeks of Basic Recruit Training that all IPs must go through to become an IP. The first class of recruits is preparing for graduation from the Furat IP Training Academy.
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Horn has had his share of experience of training young Soldiers in the past, having previously served as a drill sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., where he taught U.S. Military Police students the basics on how to conduct police operations.
Prior to moving to the range, the recruits went through a weapons training and range safety class.
During the range familiarization, the IP cadre required the recruits to fire 25 rounds from the kneeling position and 25 rounds from the prone position with AK-47 assault rifles.
An Iraqi police cadre member watches on as an Iraqi police recruit fires at a target Feb. 19 at the Furat Iraqi Police Training Academy. The familiarization range was part of the two weeks of Basic Recruit Training that all IPs must go through to become an IP. The first class of recruits is preparing for graduation from the Furat IP Training Academy.
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"The pre-training for the range by the cadre paid off and made things run smoothly," said Al Gauthier, an Iraqi Police Advisor's liaison officer. Earlier in the year, Gauthier trained the IP cadre on how to conduct the training.
"This is the first time many of these recruits have fired a weapon," said Gauthier, who added that his IPA team trained the IP cadre team during a train-the-trainer course months ago and that the cadre has come along way in their ability to train IP recruits.
While observing the Furat IP Academy, Gauthier said the IPA's main objective is to mentor, offer advice and instruct Iraqi law-enforcement recruits.
"This cadre is the best we have trained thus far. They are very professional and squared away," said Gauthier, a native of Bowie, Md., and former Prince George's County, Md., police officer.
IP cadre members diligently scan the line of Iraqi police recruits as they fire at targets during a small-arms weapons familiarization range at the Furat Iraqi Police Training Academy Feb. 19. The familiarization range was part of the two weeks of Basic Recruit Training that all IPs must go through to become an IP. The first class of recruits is preparing for graduation from the Furat IP Training Academy.
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Gauthier and his team are now limiting their involvement in the training, he said, and they are very pleased in the job the cadre is doing in training the IP recruits.
"Personally, I take a lot of pride in this cadre. I put a lot of time into their earlier training," said Gauthier, who has been part of IP training for more than a year.
The IP cadre were required to attend, and be certified at, an intensive 80-hour train-the-trainer course. They were then required to complete months of on-the-job training at Patrol Headquarters Baghdad and Camp Fiji, where they trained more than 4,000 IP recruits going through BRT.
The cadre had to earn their certifications by going through
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