Iraqi Police graduate weapons course in Habbaniyah

Story by Lance Cpl. David Weikle

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CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq (March 9, 2008) — Iraqi Policemen recently graduated from an Iraqi Highway Patrol Convoy and Street Survival Skills Course aboard Camp Habaniyah.  Marines with 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, also participated in the course during which they learned different aspects of police work including various types of search techniques, ethics of police duty and basic weapons instruction.

The group of 22 Iraqi Police and six Marines took the three-week course at the Iraqi Training Center compound here.  The graduation signifies the advancement in capabilities for the Iraqi Security Forces in Anbar province as they take on greater responsibility.

The battalion has worked with local Iraqi Police for the last several months as part of the battalion’s mission of training and mentoring Iraqi Security Forces.

The Iraqi Police students will now return to their stations, taking valuable skills learned at the course with them.  They will be responsible for training their fellow policemen and safely supervising marksmanship training.

Lance Cpl. Bryan Divelbliss, a rifleman with Headquarters and Service Company, trained alongside the Iraqis in the various training events including live fire weapons training and tactical movement.

“It was a lot like SOI (School of Infantry),” said Divelbliss, a native of Lancaster, Ohio.  “We learned to shoot a PKM (Kalashnikov automatic rifle modernized) while mounted on a truck, bounding while mounted and transition drills from rifle to pistol.”

The training schedule included weapons familiarization classes with the AK-47 assault rifle, the RPK (Kalashnikov hand-held machine gun) and PKM light machine guns, as well as the Glock-17 pistol commonly used by Iraqi Police. 

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The Marines may be required to handle similar weapons and need to know their capabilities and limitations as well as how to safely handle the weapons.  The Marines learned safe handling procedures, condition codes, rates of fire, employment, disassembly and reassembly of the weapons. 

The Marines first-hand knowledge of these weapons systems will allow them to teach their fellow Marines and sailors about these weapons.

“The chance to work with these different weapons and the IPs was invaluable,” Divelbliss said.  “I’ll be able to take these experiences with me during our work ups on future deployments and teach junior Marines using my experiences.”

While the aspects of future training are slightly different for both Marines and Iraqi Police, training together enhances partnership.  The continued partnership of Marines and Iraqi Police allows them to work toward defeating insurgency in Iraq and creating a safer Iraq for its people.