Law Enforcement Technology and Training

2007 Technologies for Critical Incident Preparedness Conference and Exposition

Presented by:
The U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ), Homeland Security (DHS) and Defense (DoD)

Hosted by:
DOJ's Office of Justice Programs' National Institute of Justice, DHS's Science and Technology Directorate, and DoD's Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs.

This 9TH annual conference provides DOJ, DHS and DoD the opportunity to highlight the technology and training tools currently available and being developed for the emergency responder community and to elicit responder technology requirements. This conference will provide a forum for responders to discuss best practices and exchange information. Expected to draw 1,500 attendees and 150 exhibits, this three-day conference will bring together key leaders and decision makers--offering responders, business and industry, academia, and Federal, State, tribal and local stakeholders a unique forum to network, exchange ideas, and collaboratively address critical incident technology and preparedness needs, protocols, and solutions.

Supported by:
FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (LEEDA)
InterAgency Board for InterOperability and Standardization (IAB)
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
National Sheriffs' Association (NSA)
National Emergency Management Association (NEMA)
National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC)
Public Safety and Security Institute for Technology (PSITEC)
Technical Support Working Group (TSWG)
US Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC)

Dates/Location:
November 6-8, 2007,
San Francisco, CA

Venue:
San Francisco Marriott
55 Fourth Street
San Francisco, CA 94103-3199
P: 415.896.1600
Group reservations available in early June at www.ctc.org. The Federal per diem (currently $140/night*) will be available for all attendees, space permitting. Please check back at this website for a link to Marriott reservations in early June.
* subject to change on 10/01/07

Attendees:
Attendee registration is FREE for the 9th Annual Technologies for Critical Incident Preparedness Conference and Exposition. Attendance is limited to 1,500. Registration available in early June at www.ctc.org. Please check back!

Exhibitors:
Exhibit booths will be sold by the Marriott and managed by CTC, with booth sales opening in early June. Booth pricing: $1,800 for Federal government/non-profit/academia and $2,050 for private sector/industry/other; booths will be sold on a first-come basis. The exhibit hall will accommodate 96 booths; all booths will be 10'x 10'. Advance sales or reservations will not be accepted. Please check back at www.ctc.org in early June for booth sales and additional information.

DRAFT Daily Agenda (subject to change):
Monday, 11/05/07
3:00pm - 7:00pm
Conference Registration Open
Tuesday, 11/06/07
7:00am - 5:00pm
Conference Registration Open
7:30am - 5:00pm
Federal Demonstration Area Open
8:30am - 11:00am
Opening/Keynote/General Session
11:00am - 1:00pm
Federal Demonstration viewing/Lunch (on your own)
1:00pm - 2:30pm
5 Concurrent Breakout Sessions
2:30pm - 3:30pm
Break
3:30pm - 5:00pm
5 Concurrent Breakout Sessions
5:00pm - 7:00pm
Exhibit Hall Opening Reception (hosted by Marriott)
Wednesday, 11/07/07
8:00am - 9:00am
Continental Breakfast
8:00am - 5:00pm
Exhibit Hall Open (except during lunch)
9:00am - 11:00am
Keynote/General Session
8:00am - 3:30pm
Federal Demonstration Area Open (except during lunch)
11:00am - 12:30pm
Break/Exhibit & Federal Demonstration viewing
12:30pm - 2:00pm
Lunch/Keynote
2:00pm - 3:30pm
Break/Exhibit & Federal Demonstration viewing
3:30pm - 5:00pm
5 Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Thursday, 11/08/07
7:30am - 8:30am
Continental Breakfast
7:30am - 3:30pm
Exhibit Hall Open
8:30am - 10:30am
General Session/Keynote
10:30am - 1:00pm
Exhibit & Federal Demonstration viewing/Lunch (on your own)
1:00pm - 3:00pm
5 Concurrent Breakout Sessions

DRAFT Session Topics (subject to change):
Pandemic Preparedness and Response
Securing our Borders
Lessons Learned in Preparedness/Response to Natural Disasters
Food Chain Safety and Security
Information and Intelligence Sharing
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Special Operations
Federal Resources for State and Local Emergency Responders
Cyber Security Tools and Resources
Response and Recovery
Incident Commander Software Training Demonstration
Personal Protective Equipment
Transportation Security
Communications Interoperability
SAFETY Act
Simulation and Training
School Security
DoD's Role in Supporting Homeland Security
Critical Infrastructure Protection

Speakers:
Speaker applications will be available in early June and accepted until August 15th. Please check back at www.ctc.org in early June for more information and to download the speaker application. Early submissions will not be accepted.

For more info.: mcook@ctc.org

Article sponsored by police officers who have written books on law enforcement jobs; as well as those involved in writing on leadership.

Cheney Notes 'Greater Sense of Urgency' Among Iraqi Leaders

By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service

May 9, 2007 – After meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders in Baghdad today, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said he noticed "a greater sense of urgency now than I'd seen previously" on the part of those leaders to meet their obligations toward continuing the country's progress. Cheney stopped in Baghdad for a previously unannounced visit to kick off a weeklong tour of the Middle East that will also include stops in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.

In his meetings with Iraqi leaders, Cheney emphasized the importance of making progress not only on security issues, but also on the political issues pending before the Iraqi government, he said.

"I think they recognize that it's in their interest as well as in our interest that they make progress on the political front just as we deal with the security issues," Cheney said.

The Iraqi leaders believe progress is being made, he said.

"I can say that, based on the conversations I've had today -- and most of those conversations were with Iraqis and Iraqi leaders, some of them in the government, some of them not -- that they believe the situation has gotten better," Cheney said.

Specifically, he added, the Iraqi leaders noted that sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites "has curtailed very dramatically."

Still, the vice president said, Iraq's leaders know much remains to be done.

"I think everybody recognizes there still are serious security problems, security threats -- no question about it," he said. "But the impression I got from talking with them -- and this includes their military as well as political leadership -- is that they do believe we are making progress, but we've got a long way to go."

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters that Iraq's civilian and military leaders know what they're up against and are committed to the task at hand.

"I think one of the interesting messages that the vice president heard today from the Iraqi leaders and from the Iraqi military leadership in particular was their absolute determination to carry forward in the face of very significant terrorist activity," the general said.

All the Iraqi leaders who met with Cheney today noted the turnaround in Iraq's Anbar province, where citizens previously aligned with enemy fighters now are helping to rid the province of terrorists, Petraeus said.

"All of them actually singled out Anbar province and the really dramatic shift in the Sunni population in Anbar province against al Qaeda Iraq in recent months as a heartening sign and actually as an example that they are encouraging be followed in other areas with similar populations," he said.

Article sponsored by police officers who have written books on law enforcement jobs; as well as those involved in writing on leadership.

Limb Deficient Youth Earns Eagle Scout Award

May 9, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) On May 26, 2007, Zachary James Foster will be honored for having earned the Eagle Scout award, the highest advancement rank in Scouting. Only 2 in 100 scouts will achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. This is especially significant since Zach did it with only one arm; he was born missing his right forearm. That obviously did not stop him. As a member of Boy Scout Troop 423, Zach has earned merit badges in such taxing physical skills as canoeing, rowing, swimming, and horseback riding. He also completed the arduous Mile Swim twice. With the use of a prosthesis, he has rappelled down cliffs, gone rock climbing, boulder jumping, practiced archery, gymnastics and learned to tap dance.

To earn the Eagle Scout rank, a boy scout must fulfill requirements in the areas of leadership, service, and outdoor skills by earning at least 21 merit badges. Zach earned 24 merit badges. Not satisfied with just scouting, he volunteers for “A Touch of Love,” a support group for limb deficient children, and for Congressman David Drier’s office. Zach is a member of the nationally acclaimed Bonita High School Chamber Singers, has taken mostly Honors or Advanced Placement classes in high school, has learned to read and write Spanish fluently, is in the Bonita Book and Kung Fu Movie Clubs. Zach is now teaching himself Japanese because he is also in the Anime Club.

Zach’s Eagle Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 26, at 11:00 a.m., at the Via Verde Country Club in San Dimas. For more information on limb deficient support groups, contact “A Touch of Love” at 1(800) 493-5462. For more information on scouting, contact San Gabriel Valley Council at (626) 351-8815.

ASSESSMENT CENTER PREPARATION

Police-Fire-Corrections
Leadership & Management Development Course
June 9-10, Saturday & Sunday, 2007
San Diego, CA
Registration: $450
Hotel Reservations:
Doubletree Hotel (Mission Valley), 7450 Hazard Center Drive,
San Diego, CA 92108 Hotel phone: (619) 297-5466
http://www.doubletree.com/en/dt/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=SDGO-DT

Since 1990, KSA, Ltd. has specialized in teaching the supervision and management skills necessary to prepare for an Assessment Center, promotional tests, and to be successful as a new supervisor, manager or command officer.

Rick Michelson, Director of KSA, is the author of “PREPARING FOR PROMOTION - A Guide for Public Safety Assessment Centers” and “Preparing Future Leaders for Tomorrow: Succession Planning for Police Leadership” in the June 2006 issue of Police Chief Magazine.

By using interactive performance based scenarios, and utilizing proven assessment center methods and promotional interview techniques, we’ll help you to:

Demonstrate your transferable skills and personal values and ethics during an interview, assessment center or any performance based scenarios

Link the job dimensions of the new job from your previous related transferable experience(s)

Conduct a successful subordinate counseling session meeting all objective(s)

Write and orally present at a command briefing, city council/board meeting, etc. training briefing, media event, or community meeting (with minimal prep time)

Facilitate group discussions and enhance your Meeting management skills and achieve the objective(s)

Understand the assessment center rating and ranking system, with feedback on your performance!

Practice working through an “In-basket”

Learn and apply effective: delegation techniques; project management, team building, and conflict resolution skills

Coach and mentor everyone from the marginal performer to the seasoned veteran
Develop a succession plan for your command

For reservation information go to:

http://assessmentcenter.org/

Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.

Leadership Key to Troop Mental Health

By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service

May 4, 2007 – The military has a robust system in place to deal with mental health issues, but longer and more frequent deployments are causing strain on servicemembers, a Defense Department study has found. The fourth Mental Health Advisory Team survey, MHAT IV as this survey was called, was conducted in August and September. For the first time, the survey included Marines in the study group. The MHAT was composed of behavioral health professionals who deployed to Iraq and surveyed soldiers, Marines, health care providers, and chaplains, Army Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, the acting surgeon general of the Army, told reporters at the Pentagon.

The MHAT IV team found that not all soldiers and Marines deployed to Iraq are at equal risk for screening positive for a mental health symptom, and the level of combat is the main determining factor of a servicemember's mental health status, Pollock said. For soldiers, deployment length and family separation were the top non-combat deployment issues, whereas Marines had fewer non-combat deployment issues, probably because of their shorter deployment periods, she said.

The team recommended behavioral outreach efforts that focus on units that are in theater longer than six months and determined that shorter deployments or longer intervals between deployments would allow soldiers and Marines better opportunities to reset mentally before returning to combat.

Pollock said these findings contributed to the Army's decision to extend combat deployments to 15 months, because it gave the units waiting to deploy more time at their home stations. Congress has authorized the Defense Department to increase the strength the Army, she noted, which will help increase time at home between deployments for soldiers.

Fifteen-month deployments will be stressful for servicemembers, Pollock acknowledged, and that's why it's important for leaders to be trained in behavioral health issues.

"We've got more attention now on the importance of leadership, and I think that's one of the strengths that the team really identified, is that with good leadership, even when people may have a bad thought, they don't act on that thought," she said. "So it's very important that we ensure that the young leaders have the training so they know how to support the troops that depend on them."

For the first time since the MHAT program was started in 2003, this assessment included questions about battlefield ethics, Pollock said. Of those surveyed, 10 percent of soldiers and Marines reported mistreating noncombatants or damaging property when it was not necessary, she said.

The survey also found that only 47 percent of soldiers and 38 percent of Marines agreed that noncombatants should be treated with dignity and respect. More than one-third of all soldiers and Marines reported that torture should be allowed to save the life of a fellow soldier or Marine, and less than half of soldiers or Marines said they would report a team member for unethical behavior.

In the report, mistreating noncombatants was defined as either stealing from a noncombatant, destroying or damaging property when it wasn't necessary, or hitting or kicking a noncombatant.

These findings may seem alarming, Pollock said, but it is important to keep them in perspective. These troops have been seeing their friends killed and injured, and anger is a normal reaction, she said. However, what's important to note is that the troops who had these thoughts did not act on them and actually mistreat any noncombatants.

"What it speaks to is the leadership that the military is providing, because they're not acting on those thoughts," she said. "They're not torturing the people. And I think it speaks very well to the level of training that we have in the military today."

Other key findings of the report include:

-- The 2006 adjusted rate of suicides per 100,000 soldiers in Operation Iraqi Freedom was 17.3 soldiers, lower than the 19.9 rate reported in 2005, but higher than the Army average of 11.6 per 100,000 soldiers.

-- Soldiers experienced mental health problems at a higher rate than Marines.

-- Deployment length was directly linked to morale problems in the Army.

-- Leadership is key to maintaining soldier and Marine mental health.

-- Both soldiers and Marines reported at relatively high rates -- 62 and 66 percent, respectively -- that they knew someone seriously injured or killed, or that a member of their team had become a casualty.

-- Only 5 percent of soldiers reported taking in-theater rest and relaxation leave, although the average time deployed was nine months.

-- Multiple deployers reported higher acute stress than first-time deployers. Deployment length was related to higher rates of mental health problems and marital problems.

-- Current suicide prevention training is not designed for a combat environment.

-- Behavioral health providers require additional combat and operational stress-control training prior to deploying to Iraq.

Since the MHAT IV report was presented to the Multinational Force Iraq commander and service leaders in November, the Army and Marines have implemented changes to improve behavioral health care, Pollock said. The Army has revised teaching curriculum and operational training to include more focus on Army values, suicide prevention, battlefield ethics, and behavioral health awareness in all junior-leader-development courses, she said.

The Marine Corps has been developing deployment-cycle training since 2003, said Navy Capt. William P. Nash, coordinator of the Combat/Operational Stress Control Branch of the service's Manpower and Reserve Affairs directorate. Marines, leaders and families all receive training in identifying, managing and preventing mental health problems, he said.

Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.

Top Military Installations Lauded at Pentagon

By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service

May 4, 2007 – The top installations from each of the military services and the Defense Logistics Agency were lauded today at the Pentagon for their superior mission support. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England presented the Commander in Chief's Annual Awards for Installation Excellence, highlighting the facilities' superior performance at a time when the nation faces a worldwide strategic threat from terrorism.

"This is an especially critical time for the country, and it is a time like this that requires great leadership," England said at a ceremony honoring the recipients. "It requires great leadership starting with the president of the United States and the secretary of defense and all the great people that we have in the Pentagon, but it takes leadership throughout the organization. It takes leadership at every single level of our organization and every single place in our organization."

This year's awardees were U.S. Army Garrison Japan, at Camp Zama, Japan; Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.; Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga.; Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho; and Defense Supply Center Columbus, Ohio.

This was the first year that the four military installations received the award. The Defense Supply Center Columbus, however, has received the honor five times over the years. Each installation was chosen for its exemplary support of Defense Department missions and for providing excellent working, housing and recreational conditions.

England emphasized that the award is not just recognizing the leadership, but also the people who make the installations function every day. "Any time you have an opportunity to say thanks to people for a job that's extraordinarily well done, it's an opportunity you never pass up, because at the end of the day, that's what this organization's all about," he said. "It's about joint civilian-military teams; it's that teamwork behind the lines that allows our people to do their jobs at the front lines."
President Ronald Reagan created the Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence in 1985. The Defense Logistics Agency was added to the competition in 1988. Recipient installations receive a trophy, an "Installation Excellence" flag, and a letter signed by President Bush.

Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.

Marine Entry-Level Training to Go 'Back to Basics,' General Says

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

May 3, 2007 – Marine entry-level training will reinvigorate its values-based approach, a top Marine official said here yesterday. At both Marine Corps Recruitment Depots -- in Parris Island, S.C., and San Diego -- senior drill instructors will hold "footlocker classes" with enlistees to strengthen the mentor-scholar relationship, Marine Maj. Gen. George J. Flynn, the commanding general of the Corps' Training and Education Command, told reporters at the Pentagon.

"The senior drill instructors will have their troops literally sit on the footlockers and will have that father-son, mother-daughter talk that really instills those values," he said. "That's where a lot of the values get reinforced and introduced to the recruits."

Discussion topics will depend on when the sessions occur during boot camp, and Flynn said talks could range from what new recruits might experience when first arriving to a unit and what leadership they can expect, to financial advice and how young Marines should behave during leave. Senior drill instructors soon will receive a guide on how to approach these footlocker sessions, he added.

Flynn said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway spurred the re-examination of entry-level training. "This stemmed from his belief that the transformation from civilian to Marine is a national treasure and one that we must preserve and guard," he said.

In addition, the Corps is considering an additional week of infantry training for both infantry and noninfantry Marines, which would likely include crew-served weapons training, plus convoy and counter-improvised-explosive-device training.

In about a month, officials at Marine Manpower and Reserve Affairs should render their judgment on whether the additional week is feasible. "All these things would provide a better-trained Marine to the operating forces," Flynn said.

The general also announced a scheduling change to the 12-week Marine boot camp, involving the 54-hour endurance exercise Marines call "The Crucible." In May, recruits at Parris Island will undergo the crucible in week 11, instead of week 10, and in October the crucible exercise in San Diego will move from week eight to week 11.

"We want to make The Crucible the true culminating event that it was originally designed to be," he said. "At the end of this 54-hour event, you will be recognized as earning the right to be called a United States Marine."

The 12th and final week of training will be called "Marine Week," Flynn said.

"It's a transition from going to a very restrictive environment to learning about how you are going to function in the Marines when you reach the operating forces," he said. "You're going to get accustomed to the leadership that you're going to experience out in the fleet and also understand the role of (noncommissioned officers) and staff NCOs other than being drill instructors."

Borrowing a quote from former Marine Commandant Lt. Gen. John A. Lejeune, Flynn said, "An individual should be better off for their service."

"And that's really what this is all about," he said. "It's a recommitment."

Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.

Civilian Leaders Impressed With Servicemembers' Role Overseas

By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service

April 30, 2007 – After traveling nearly 18,000 miles to see the young men and women of the U.S. armed forces in Southwest Asia, members of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference 73 have come away from the experience with a heightened respect for those who are serving the nation. The 45 participants were civic and business leaders from around the country who covered their own expenses to join in the Defense Department's oldest public affairs program by visiting servicemembers from each branch to learn more about the military's role in operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

The weeklong tour began at the military's headquarters at the Pentagon before moving on to Djibouti, Bahrain, Kuwait and other bases in Southwest Asia, including a visit to the USS Dwight. D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Gulf.

"I hope that this trip will expand the way you view liberty and freedom," said JCOC co-host Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communications and public liaison, at the start of the trip. "(The war on terror) is not just a military solution; it's broader than that. It's also an economic, intelligence and coalition solution."

During their whirlwind trip, participants heard from both the most senior military leaders at each location and individual troops who are carrying out the nation's mission. They had the chance to fire weapons, ride in Humvees, land on a naval aircraft carrier, and experience a little of the training servicemembers go through in preparation for deployments.

They were also given briefings on how the United States is working with allies to bring security and stability to countries in an effort to help build economic and governmental independence.

The majority of the trip's participants had little to no previous interaction with the U.S. military, and while they are leaders from a variety of backgrounds -- finance, sports, entertainment, political, academic and business industries -- they all said they wanted a better context of the nation's role in the Middle East.

"The knowledge one gains from being an alert reader from media and books doesn't compare with the immersion experience we've had over the past week," said Ann Brownwell Sloane, who is the chief executive officer and owner of Sloane and Hinshaw, Inc., a company that provides planning, administrative and counseling services to U.S. and overseas grant-making foundations and individual philanthropists. "I wish everyone could have this experience," she said.

Sloane said she feels that most Americans haven't taken on any burden of this war. "I find it dismaying that people will walk away from their television sets because they aren't connecting with the messages of the leadership on our role (in the Middle East)," she said.

JCOC participant John Turner, an associate with the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, said the trip has given him a different perspective on the U.S. military's role in the region.

"I am impressed with the way information has been integrated into the modern military," he said. "It also makes me understand the agenda of the governments in the region a little better."

Turner works with major media companies in the Middle East and Europe. Through an International Affairs Fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations, he has also worked with the State Department on economic, political and educational reform in the Middle East.

"We have gotten a lot of context from this trip," Turner said. "Now when we read these stories in the media, we'll better understand the peripheral and cultural impacts on the area."

The U.S. military has been using the research from JCOC participant Amy Coen's organization, Population Action International, in its leadership schools to better understand the impact of age, poverty levels and education on urbanization and civil conflict between nations.

Coen said she wanted to participate in the trip to gain more insight into how the military is working with societies to develop better governance, security and growth strategies in underdeveloped countries.

"I think the military understands the importance of developing friendships to create environments for positive change," she said.

Coen said she was deeply touched by the bravery, commitment and patriotism of soldiers on the ground. "I had no idea how hard this job was and miserable it is, in terms of heat and fear," she said after going through a convoy exercise where soldiers train on detecting improvised explosive devices. "To have to daily go through these physical and psychological demands; I'm utterly impressed with our military."

Other trip participants were equally affected by the dedication of the young men and women serving so far from home. Many formed personal friendships with troops and were moved to tears when interacting with them on an individual basis.

Wal-mart Foundation Community Program Development Manager Kathleen Cox has worked on numerous military outreach programs since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to communicate her company's dedication and support of the U.S. military. However, she said she didn't realize how much the trip would touch her on a personal level.

Although she came on the trip armed with hundreds of phone cards to pass out to all troops with whom she interacted, she also had the opportunity to interact with National Guard troops from near her hometown of Bentonville, Ark.

"They were so thankful for the phone cards, but the words of thanks and hugs from us meant so much more to them," she said. "Even though we weren't able to see each and every soldier, I hope the message will get to others about how much we appreciate what they're doing over here."

Oklahoma Secretary of State Susan Savage said she was in awe throughout the trip.

"It never dawned on me that my visit could boost the morale of these troops," she said. "This was the best experience."

Whenever Savage would learn that servicemembers in an area were from her home state, she would take the time to seek them out and get information so that she could get in touch with their families once she got back home.

"You guys are inspirational. It's great to come out here and learn what you are doing so far from home," Savage told Army Spc. Dustin Ackerman, a Tulsa, Okla., native, when she met him on a training range in Kuwait.

Ackerman also had the opportunity to interact with the President of Fat Brain Toy Company, John Batcher. The soldier had recently placed an order for kites from the company to be shipped to Kuwait. When he saw Batcher's name on the list of visitors to the area, he left a letter for Batcher telling him who he was. Batcher worked with leaders in the area to meet Ackerman. He and the soldier flew one of the kites together on the training range.

"This has made my year right here," Ackerman said after meeting Batcher and Savage.

"That's what JCOC is all about," Batcher said. "It's to make soldiers feel good and let them know we support them."

Batcher also took down the names of soldiers' children throughout the trip so he could send them toys from his company as a show of appreciation for their service to the nation.

The JCOC trip has other participants brainstorming on what they can do to show support for America's men and women in the armed forces.

Kelli Johnson, president of ACE Clearwater Enterprises, an engineering and manufacturing firm in Torrance, Calif., said that she and other participants are planning to come together to do something "meaningful" in support of the nation's military.

"It's our obligation," she said. "We're not exactly sure what that is at the moment, but how can we say, 'We're here for you and support you' but then go back home and do nothing?"

"I am so incredibly impressed with this entire trip," Johnson said. "I am humbled, inspired and proud of our troops. They make me proud to be an American."

Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.

War Hero, Firefighter, Police Officer, Actor and Writer

Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Police-Writers.com added James McEachin to the website. He is a war hero and has been a firefighter, police officer, accomplished actor, writer and now a movie director.

James McEachin, a former police officer for the Hackensack Police Department (New Jersey) is an African-American actor and award-winning author most notably noted for his role as the first black man to have his own show on NBC called TENAFLY, and for his many character roles such as portraying police lieutenant Brock in the Perry Mason television movie series.

As a young man, James McEachin served in the U.S. Army before, and then during the Korean War. Serving in King Company, he was wounded (nearly fatally) in an ambush and left for dead. He was rescued by a young blond boy who carried him for two days and many miles over difficult terrain and nearby gunfire to safety before disappearing from McEachin's life forever. McEachin was one of only two soldiers to survive the ambush. He was discharged from the Army as a corporal. He was awarded both the Purple Heart and Silver Star in 2005 by California Congressman David Dreier after McEachin participated in a Veterans History Project interview given by Dreier's office and in which they discovered McEachin had no copies of his own military records. Dreier's office quickly traced the records and notified McEachin of the Silver Star commendation and awarding him all seven of his medals of valor shortly thereafter and fifty years after his service.

Following his military career James McEachin dabbled in civil service as first a fireman and then a police officer. In 1953, he had a brief law enforcement career as a police officer for the Hackensack Police Department (New Jersey) before he moved to California and became a record producer. Known as Jimmy Mack in the industry, he worked with young artists like Otis Redding and went on to produce The Fury's. He began his acting career shortly after, and was signed by Universal as a contract actor in the 1960s. He was regularly cast in professional, "solid citizen" occupational roles, such as a lawyer or a police commander, guesting on numerous series such as Hawaii Five-O, Mannix, and Dragnet. He played the dee-jay Sweet Al Monty in Play Misty for Me (1971) with Clint Eastwood. In 1973, McEachin starred as Harry Tenafly, the title character in Tenafly, a short-lived detective series about a police officer turned private detective who relied on his wits and hard work, rather than guns and fistfights.

While continuing to guest star in many television series and appearing in several feature-length films, McEachin landed his most memorable role, that of police lieutenant Brock in the 1986 television movie Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun. He would reprise this role in more than a dozen Perry Mason telemovies, appearing opposite the late Raymond Burr.

In the 1990s, McEachin semi-retired from acting to pursue a writing career. His first work was a military history of the court-martial of 63 black American soldiers during the First World War, titled Farewell to the Mockingbirds (1995), which won the 1998 Benjamin Franklin Award. His next works, mainly fiction novels, included The Heroin Factor (1999), Say Goodnight to the Boys in Blue (2000), The Great Canis Lupus (2001), and Tell me a Tale: A Novel of the Old South (2003). McEachin also published Pebbles in the Roadway in (2003), a collection of short stories and essays which the author describes as "a philosophical view of America and Americans." In (2005) McEachin produced the award-winning audio book VOICES: A Tribute to the American Veteran.

In early (2006) the film short REVEILLE in which James McEachin starred with David Huddleston began to play to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and people began to request copies of the film. The film was posted on video,google.com and quickly garnered 1.5 million hits and a deluge of fan mail to the jamesmceachin.com website which inspired McEachin's latest contribution, OLD GLORY in which he wrote, produced, directed, and acted. OLD GLORY is McEachin's directorial debut.

In 2001, McEachin received the Distinguished Achievement Award from Morgan State University. In 2005, he became an Army Reserve Ambassador, this distinction carries the protocol of a two-star general. (Source for some of the information was en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McEachin)

As a former member of the U.S. Military, James McEachin is also listed on www.military-writers.com

Police-Writers.com now hosts 504 police officers (representing 211 police departments) and their 1066 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

A Marine and A Sailor

Military-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing all former United States military personnel who have written books. The website added a sailor, Shane Moore, and a Marine, Robert Taubert.

Shane Moore is a detective with the Gillespie Police Department (Illinois). His debut novel is A Prisoner's Welcome. Shane Moore describes his work as a fantasy similar to Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, but with much heavier writing and themes which are best suited for the adult reader.

One reader/reviewer of Shane Moore’s novel said, “A Prisoner's Welcome is a rare fantasy that lacks the troupes of almost every fantasy novel out there. It starts out with young Lancalion searching for a person to read some parchments that are supposed to detail the murder of his parents-an orphan with power trying to discover the one responsible for his parents murder-SAME OLD troupe! That is where it all changes. Moore takes us on a whirlwind ride with politics, deceit, trickery, and backstabbing on a grand scale.” Shane Moore served in the United States Navy.

Robert "Bob" Taubert is thought of by FBI veterans as the finest firearms and tactics instructor to serve in the FBI. He has a Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Physical Education and served 12 years as a reconnaissance infantry Marine pulling two combat tours in Vietnam, rising to the rank of Major and serving as company commander.

Robert Taubert joined the FBI serving his country as a Special Agent for over twenty-four years. While in the FBI he was heavily involved in Special Operations and was one of the founders and trainers of the FBI’s Elite Hostage Rescue Team (HRT. Bob served as the FBI SOG liaison for the USMC and US Navy special operations entities. Bob is responsible for the birth of the widely known SEAL Team 6 and assisted what was to become today’s US Navy's Development Group, in gaining official recognition as a national counter terrorism asset by the military.

Serving as the senior instructor at the FBI Academy in the FBI’s SOARS, the elite Special Operations units Robert Taubert was chosen by the DEA to train and equip DEA agents in Close Quarters Battle, SWAT tactics and combat survival skills. These agents went on to participate in some of the most highly secretive joint agency covert operations that the US has ever run. During his tours of duty with the Bureau and DEA he attended every major firearms school in the world and qualified as a Master or Expert in long and short firearms.

Following the FBI he was a staff instructor at the Smith & Wesson Academy; he is a subject matter expert in SWAT, Anti-Terrorism, Hostage Rescue and Police Survival issues; he is a Staff Instructor for the US Department of State's Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program and is also an adjunct Instructor at Alan Brosnan's Tactical Explosive Entry School and Kelly McCain’s Crucible Training Center. He is an accomplished author and is a staff writer for many law enforcement magazines, publications, and journals. Robert Taubert is the co-author of Soldiering on: The Stories of Two Former Kiwi SAS Men in Their Continuing World-Wide Careers of Adventure.

In addition to hosting current, former and retired military personnel who have written books, Military-Writers.com is building and extensive web-based directory of military personnel who own businesses.

Iraqi Police Becoming 'Very Capable' at Law Enforcement, Official Says

By Tim Kilbride
Special to American Forces Press Service

April 26, 2007 – Iraq's growing police force is technically competent and functioning as it should within the country's legal system, a top U.S. police trainer said yesterday. The operational problems they have experienced are primarily the result of an unusually tumultuous security situation in Baghdad and elsewhere, said Army Brig. Gen. David Phillips, deputy commander of the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team and the senior military police officer in theater.

"I believe the Iraqi police are getting very capable in handling the law enforcement type mission and traffic mission. The problem you have is ... that there's a lot of terrorists and insurgents who want to see them fail," Phillips said, speaking to online journalists from Baghdad.

The Iraqi army, Phillips explained, is trained to contend with terrorism.

"When you compare the Iraqi army, who are over here fighting in an insurgency and against terrorists, we are training the police to perform law enforcement," he said. "The training we give them - although they get tactical training - is primarily focused on being a police officer."

Under normal conditions, Phillips said, the police would be engaged in "investigating crime and traffic patrols."

In these capacities, the general said, the police are performing dramatically better now than even two years ago, when Phillips was last deployed to Iraq. He cited examples of traffic cops waving his convoy through traffic circles, and patrol officers walking their beat in a Baghdad neighborhood while local children played nearby.

With nearly 170,000 regular police on the country's rosters, Phillips noted that in many areas of the country the Iraqi security forces operate virtually independently of U.S. and international guidance.

"Approximately 75 percent of the country gets very minimal coalition force presence," he said. Those areas are "under the control of the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army, and they're out there doing what you'd expect them to do."

It is in Baghdad and other particularly restive areas, Phillips explained, that though "it is truly Iraqis in the lead now," the coalition continues to provide support.

And in areas such as violence-prone Anbar province, Phillips said, tribal sheikhs are now encouraging their relatives and affiliates to create local units to stand up to terrorist and insurgent activity - in effect, a "community watch."

Such forces, he said, are being created under the umbrella of the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior and will function as an extension of the standard police force.

An official government sanction is crucial to the success of these initiatives and will be forthcoming, Phillips said, though he noted there are worries among the sheikhs as to where and how their associates could be used.

"They want to come into the system, be sanctioned as police; they want to be trained as police," Phillips said. "Their concern is if they're trained will they be sent out of that area and then have to work in an area - they're predominantly Sunni - would they have to work in a predominantly Shiia area? That's where they object."

The Iraqi leadership, with coalition assistance, is trying to work out the command and control relationships for these organizations, Phillips said.

The general admitted the question of sectarian loyalty remains an issue throughout the force, but said its effect is less severe than commonly believed.

The police, Phillips explained, are trained at academies close to their homes and return to those homes at the completion of their courses, as opposed to Iraqi army soldiers, who train as a unit and then deploy to different locations.

For the graduating policeman, he said, "you go back to the same community you were in, ... and you're policing in the neighborhood where your family is, with the same influences you had, with people who are like you."

Sectarian bias will naturally apply in these cases, Phillips said.

"When you look, is one police force in this city predominantly Sunni and one in another city predominantly Shiia? Yes, it's going to be natural that way. But we also have mixed forces in the towns that are mixed."

Baghdad is a prime example of a mixed-force town, Phillips said, and working out the dynamics there among diverse populations will remain a challenge.

Useful progress is being made in screening out known risks from the police recruiting pool, however, Phillips said. He noted an Iraqi-operated "Automated Fingerprint Identification System" and other biometric information are being used to check potential recruits against a database of known or suspected criminals.

"I think the vetting process is not perfect, but it's catching quite a few who you would not want to be one of your community cops on the corner," Phillips said.

Addressing another common criticism of the Iraqi force, the general said overcrowding in police detention facilities does still occur, but is the product of temporary delays in legal processing rather than a flawed system.

"Yes, there's overcrowding," Phillips said, "And the reason is because of the number of investigative judges." The number of judges is not equal to the backlog of criminal cases, he said.

To compensate, Phillips noted, in addition to training more judges, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, Multinational Force Iraq commander, is expediting work on a "Rule of Law" complex in Baghdad that will house investigative judges, investigators, trial judges, police and detention facilities all in one compound. The proximity of all the key players in the Iraqi criminal justice system should streamline the legal process and help keep detention centers operating at normal levels, he explained.

"If there's a delay there, that's where you start seeing crowding in the jails," Phillips said. "The system in place as templated is a pretty good system; we just have to get the number of judges, the facilities and all of that, stood up."

Capacity issues aside, Phillips noted, the police are performing admirably in their assigned roles in a situation that is grossly outside their traditional mandate.

Until that security situation stabilizes, Phillips noted, U.S. forces will continue to support the police in their mission.

"If they're out there doing a simple operation and all of a sudden a terrorist starts shooting at them, of course they do not have the firepower to return - they're police officers - but they contact us and we respond," he said.

Still, despite the underlying security challenge, Phillips said, there is reason for optimism regarding the police's long-term effectiveness.

"If you took the equation of the terrorists and the insurgents out of the mix," he said, "You have a nationally trained police force that, I think, would be able to do quite well."

(Tim Kilbride is assigned to New Media, American Forces Information Service.)

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Wounded Warrior Brigade Top Enlisted Soldier Provides Hands-On Leadership

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

April 25, 2007 – Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffery Hartless, an airborne ranger and master parachutist, served nearly his entire 24-year career jumping out of planes. He earned parachute badges from Italy, Jordan, Norway, Korea, Germany and Honduras. His airborne career ended, though, when he was crushed under a 10-ton front loader in Afghanistan in 2005. Once stable, Hartless was taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Center here. He has since recovered, but in an ironic and unlikely career twist for an infantryman, Hartless' injuries have brought him back again to Walter Reed -- this time to apply his combat leadership skills to taking care of wounded warriors as the top noncommissioned officer in the Warrior Transition Brigade. The brigade stood up its headquarters and first company in a ceremony at the center today.

When Hartless was injured in Afghanistan, his femur was smashed in six places; a titanium rod now holds it in place. His pelvis was broken at the socket. All of his ribs were broken, and he suffered lung and liver damage. His left foot had literally exploded under the pressure, and his left arm was nearly pulled off.

Miraculously, the doctors were able to put Hartless back together, with all body parts still intact and functioning. He later called the care he received here "fantastic" and "unbelievable."

The two-time combat veteran now will lead a new group of NCOs, many hand-picked by the sergeant major of the army, tasked with improving soldier care at Walter Reed. In his leadership "rucksack," Hartless brings a hands-on approach that starts at the squad leader level.

"They will have a squad leader again," Hartless said of wounded warriors recovering here. "(Each squad leader) is going to know them. He's going to know their family. He's going to know what unit they are in. He's going to know the appointments they have. He's going to know whether his soldier needs help getting to his appointments."

A few months ago, at the time the center came under fire for poor outpatient soldier care, there were no squad leaders assigned to help lead the wounded soldiers, and the staff of platoon sergeants had as many as 50 patient soldiers each to care for.

"Fifty-to-one is horrible. (The platoon sergeant) is just trying to account for his people. What problems can he solve?" Hartless said.

When the staff of the new brigade is manned at its intended 166 soldiers in June, squad leaders will have only nine to 12 soldiers in their care.

Hartless said leadership at the squad leader level is critical because it allows for the face-to-face and hands-on communication needed to ensure proper soldier care. As an example, Hartless cited the practice of an infantry squad leader just after a combat encounter:

"An infantry squad leader -- once they've consolidate, they've pushed through the objective, ... that squad leader goes to every solder and puts his hands on him and feels him," Hartless said. "Why is he doing that? He's talking to him. How much ammo do you have left? How much water do you have left? He's getting a status report.

"But he's feeling him to see if he's bleeding. Because (the soldier's) adrenalin is running so high sometimes you have a wounded soldier and you don't know until you put your hands on him," he said.

Because squad leaders have that hands-on relationship, "that young private ... knows his squad leader cares for him personally," Hartless said.

Hartless, who hails from the one-stoplight town of Amherst, Va., just a little more than three hours south of the sprawling Walter Reed campus, said healing will be wounded soldiers' mission while at the center.

"To me a soldier's mission is healing while they are here. That's their mission. Just like they get a task or a mission in a regular unit -- we want them to heal,"" he said.

Hartless was serving as the garrison command sergeant major at Fort Polk, La., when the sergeant major of the army tapped him for this post. The infantryman said he had no angst about putting on the medical patch to take this assignment. But, it has been an adjustment, he conceded

"It's a different feeling. Acronyms are different here. CLS is not combat lifesaver, its common levels of support. I have to learn a different language as I go. I learn something every day, so it's good," Hartless said.

"(I have) no angst about the patch. The patch is just the history. It's the people that make the units," he said.

Hartless said his injuries, his familiarity with the care at the center, and his ability to empathize with soldiers looking at the end of their careers make him a good fit for the job. But, for the soft-spoken sergeant major who has spent his career down in the dirt with his troops, the "honor" is all his.

"It's quite an honor ... to be selected for this, to help take care of our injured soldiers. It's just an honor," Hartless said.

Hartless was injured when he was run over by an Afghan driving a 10-ton front end loader. As the command sergeant major of the 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, he had just finished checking guard posts on his forward operation base and was rounding the corner of a row of metal storage units when hit. Officials never determined if the incident was intentional. The Afghan ran and left him for dead, he said.

"I am lucky to be alive. The hand of God reached to me and said it's not time to come home yet. He's let me go on another day here for a purpose," Hartless said.

His surgeon and physical therapist still work at the hospital.

"They put me back together. I feel it every day. I have no complaints because I have everything. Everything works," Hartless said. "I won't say I can run anymore. I jog. I'm really not supposed to run that much, but I do it anyway, I guess because I'm hard-headed -- an infantry guy. I can go back to an infantry brigade or battalion and function."

Hartless said it was a "hard thing to accept" when officials first suggested that he may have to medically retire due to his injuries.

"I didn't believe it. I knew I could heal. I knew I carry a rucksack again. I knew I could go with the boys out on patrol," he said. "In my heart I knew I could do it. In my mind I knew I could do it too. I pushed myself because I wanted to get back. I wanted to be with those troops again.

"Today I can go. I can deploy and fight and win," he said.

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Gates: Iraqis Need to Speed Up Reconciliation Process

By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service

Iraq, April 19, 2007 – The path to reconciliation among Iraqi factions is arduous, but Iraqi leaders from all parties need to step up the pace, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today in Tel Aviv, Israel. "Frankly, I would like to see faster progress," Gates said, moments before boarding a military aircraft to travel to Iraq.

Continued debate on Capital Hill over potential troop redeployments help show the Iraqis that "this isn't an open-ended commitment" on the part of the United States military, he said.

"Our president has said that our patience is not unlimited," Gates said. "I don't think we've been very subtle in communicating these messages to the Iraqis."

He said the Iraqi government needs to approve several important pieces of legislation, including laws governing foreign investment in Iraqi oil and how best to share the revenue from such dealings. Iraqis are also working on, but have so far failed to agree upon, a "de-Baathification law," to govern how best to deal with former members of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Passing these laws won't change the security situation overnight, but it will send an encouraging message to the Iraqi people, Gates said.

"I think ... the ability to get them done communicates a willingness (of) all of the parts of the Iraqi government to work together to begin solving some of these problems," he said.

After arriving in Iraq, Gates held a joint news conference with Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq. During the briefing, Petraeus seconded Gates' notion about the Iraqi laws.

"Those (laws) are hugely important for all Iraqis to feel a stake in the success of the new Iraq," Petraeus said.

U.S., coalition and Iraqi forces are working through the Baghdad security plan "to provide a window of opportunity ... that will allow Iraqi leaders to resolve some of these very tough issues that are out there confronting them, among those the need to reconcile in a variety of different ways," Petraeus said.

A series of bombings that killed and wounded hundreds in several areas of Baghdad yesterday set back what Petraeus described as "a bit of traction" in the security situation.

"Yesterday was a bad day, there's no two ways about it," Petraeus said. "And a day like that can have a real psychological impact."

Still, yesterday's bombings and an April 12 attack that killed an Iraqi Council member shouldn't stop the Iraqi government from moving forward, Gates said.

"Clearly the attack on the Council of Representatives has made people nervous," Gates said. "But I think that it's just very important that they bend every effort to getting this legislation done as quickly as possible."

Petraeus said these sensational attacks should not be viewed as anything other than setbacks and challenges.

"It does show that the enemy has a vote, and the enemy -- in this case al Qaeda -- clearly is intent on trying to reunite sectarian violence and on trying to derail the Baghdad security plan," Petraeus said. "And I think the Iraqi leaders and the coalition leaders have shown the determination to give back."

Iraqi leaders "responded very resolutely" to the attacks, Petraeus said. He noted that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other leaders met with Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker last night to discuss actions to improve security and focus intelligence on the car-bomb networks.

"And they met again today for that very purpose," he added.

Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Gen. Peter Pace, who traveled here separately to join the secretary in high-level talks with U.S. military and Iraqi leaders, met with Petraeus, U.S. Central Command chief Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, and Multinational Corps Iraq Commander Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno in Fallujah today. Also present was Gates' new senior military assistant, Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, who preceded Odierno as the corps commander in Iraq.

Gates and Pace will meet with the other senior leaders again this evening to get their "in-depth evaluation (on) how they think things are going and what they see the prospects will be," Gates said. The secretary also is scheduled to meet with Ambassador Crocker and Iraqi leaders, including Maliki.

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Corruption Ebbs as Iraqi Police Leadership Strengthens

By Tim Kilbride
Special to American Forces Press Service

April 19, 2007 – A firm commitment to professionalism and transparency from Iraq's political leaders are helping the country's growing civil security force perform well in "a highly challenging environment," a coalition training official said yesterday. British Army Brig. Gen. Rob Weighill, deputy commander of the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, told online journalists that, with 200,000 Iraqi police officers trained in the past two years, his organization is well on its way in its mission to "generate, train and sustain the Iraqi police forces," so that they can shape a security environment favorable to democratic establishment.

Iraq's overall civil security force - including local police, national police, and border, ports, highway and traffic patrols - is about 300,000 strong, Weighill said.

But sheer numbers are only a part of the game, Weighill explained. He said Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Bolani has repeatedly made clear he values quality over quantity in building the force, particularly in relation to skills and rights training.

To ensure new police officers have the necessary capabilities to operate independently, police training has been largely standardized across Iraq's various police academies, Weighill said. He pointed to the Numaniyah police training center, southeast of Baghdad, as an example of how such facilities operate.

Numaniyah, Weighill said, has the capacity for 2,000 beds, roughly matched to the size of an Iraqi police brigade. Recruits who graduate the four-week program are typically sent out as a cohesive unit.

"They come, literally, straight out of Numaniyah, in brigade size, and get put into Baghdad, sitting alongside and working alongside their Iraqi police brethren" and the Iraqi army, Weighill said.

The general commended the "standard, tried, and now tested, police training program," but acknowledged room for further growth.

Respect for human rights remains a perpetual concern, Weighill said. Rights training has been a part of the Iraqi curriculum since 2003, but the issue has become increasingly germane amid Iraq's tide of sectarian violence, he said.

"This is an important aspect of their policing duty because it fulfills the vital requirement for them to understand and implement what it means to treat people fairly and with dignity and respect," the general said.

In the past, he noted, "a lack of leadership, a lack of training, and therefore an absence of support and trust between the police and the community" led to situations in which Iraqi police officers stood by while crimes were committed.

With a reinvigorated Ministry of the Interior, Weighill said, such behavior, along with more egregious cases of corruption, is no longer tolerated.

Minister Bolani "emphatically states he will not put up with corruption," Weighill said, noting that senior ministry officials have been removed in cases of nefarious activities.

The maturation of robust internal affairs and inspector general's offices within the ministry over the past two to three years has led to a swell of investigations within the force, Weighill explained. These offices are tasked with "identifying fraud, crime (and) corruption" and punishing perpetrators appropriately, he said.

In January, about 1,200 such cases were investigated by the inspector general's office alone, Weighill said.

"Contrary to popular belief - that is that the Ministry of the Interior and the Iraqi police are heavily infiltrated from the sectarian perspective - the work that I've done... would suggest otherwise," Weighill observed.

"Of course there are infringements of the law" and those are "dealt with in accordance with Iraqi law," Weighill said.

These examples of strong leadership from the ministry are crucial to maintaining professionalism throughout the ranks, Weighill said.

"Principally through police training, the leadership element within the Iraqi police, national police, is improving all the time," Weighill said. "If that leadership is strong, then by and large, the levels and frequency of criminality - whether it's taking bribes, whether it's involved in corruption, or indeed involvement in sectarian violence - tends to diminish."

To help ensure adherence to standards, ethics and protocol, the general said, the Iraqi police just conducted a full spectrum inspection of all 47 police stations in Baghdad.

The review highlighted that among other areas, police infrastructure, vehicles, and overall processes and procedures all need improvement, Weighill said, though he noted anti-corruption procedures are far tighter than in the past, especially relating to funding and personnel payments.

Management and administration of the police force stand to gain from the gradual introduction of digital information management systems, Weighill said. He predicted the systems could be in place by late 2008.

In the meantime, shortages of capacity within the police training regime have actually led to a temporary freeze on police recruiting throughout Iraq, Weighill said, though he characterized the hold as a positive sign.

"There's no shortage of volunteers," he said. "In fact, we've had to... place a three-month moratorium on recruiting simply because we don't have the capacity and the training establishments at the moment to deal with the numbers that are volunteering to join the police."

For the existing police training facilities and programs, progress is unlikely to be affected by the Iraq funding debate in Washington, Weighill said.

"We in the police are probably in a slightly better position than the Iraqi army," he said, "in so far as the money that is spent by the United States in support of the Iraqi police is a smaller proportion of those funds than is spent on the Iraqi army."
"What is interesting," Weighill added, "is that the Iraqi central government budget for the police in 2007 almost doubled from 2006, so actually the Iraqi government is contributing significantly to the way in which business is conducted."

That type of strong Iraqi government commitment is largely behind the steady improvement of the police force, Weighill said.

"I work on a daily basis in the Ministry of Interior building with people... who are becoming good friends," he said. They exert "an enormous amount of industry to try and ensure that the Iraqi police can operate and function effectively."

Weighill said close contact with the police force in his first two months in Iraq have reversed what were negative impressions of their capabilities and efficacy.

"I came out here with perhaps the view that prevails in the United Kingdom - I can't speak for the United States - which is that the Iraqi police are emphatically infiltrated with sectarian issues," Weighill said. "They're not trusted by the population, that they have difficulties in undertaking their tasks. I have found the opposite to be the case," he added.

"Pretty much every contact that I've had with the police is that these boys... and these women are doing a pretty good job in highly demanding circumstances," the general said. "And I think as you would say in your country, as far as I'm concerned, they're patriots."

(Tim Kilbride is assigned to New Media, American Forces Information Service.)

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