30 Iraqi Police Officers Graduate from Leadership Training Course

Contact: Major Mark Martin martinme@orha.centcom.mil Shane Wolfe wolfes@orha.centcom.mil THIRTY IRAQI POLICE OFFICERS GRADUATE FROM LEADERSHIP TRAINING COURSE Baghdad, Iraq May 29, 2004 – Thirty veteran Iraqi police officers, selected for their demonstrated leadership potential, have completed a two-week mid-level management training course, conducted by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the Coalition Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT), in coordination with Iraq’s Ministry of Interior. During the course, the Coalition instructors focused on topics such as the basics of management, organizational structures, crime scene, civil disorder and natural disaster management, communications methods, ethics and problem solving. Instructors utilized a combination of lectures, practical exercises and small group discussions in their instruction of the officers. Most of the trainees have been working as police officers in Iraq for the past 10 to 15 years and were selected to fill management policing positions within the reformed Iraqi Police Service (IPS). The 30 graduates, from police precincts throughout Baghdad, represent the first in a continuing series of IPS mid-level management courses. “The Coalition is here to help Iraqis build their justice system,” said Steve Casteel, CPA Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Interior at the graduation ceremony. “But what we produce is just a series of papers. Someone needs to take those papers and put them into law. And that responsibility falls to you.” Since the liberation of Iraq, the Coalition has recruited and trained over 6400 new Iraqi police officers and provided remedial training to an additional 17,859 experienced police officers who have been rehired. “Every morning you should think to yourself, ‘I can make a difference,’” Casteel told the graduates. “But the one thing we can’t give you is leadership,” he added. “I now challenge you to step forward and lead.”