An Iraqi Police recruit peers around a corner while securing a training objective at the Scorpion Training Academy in Diyala Province, Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Mark Wojciechowski
133 rd MPAD

MUQDADIYAH, Iraq – Police academies, like the Scorpion Training Academy at Forward Operation Base Normandy, are changing perceptions about Iraqi Police.

The main objectives at the Scorpion Training Academy in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, are to protect and serve the people of Iraq in trying times, and to build a security force capable of helping to stabilize a nation.

The recruits of the Scorpion academy are charging through a two-week course that teaches the basic tools needed to function as a police officer in Iraq.

The dedicated instructors, who are all Iraqi police officers themselves, run a precise, disciplined course.

Iraqi Police recruits tactically secure a stairwell during a training exercise at the Scorpion Training Academy in Diyala Province, Iraq.

There is minimal coalition involvement in the training, held at at an abandoned facility that was once used by Saddam Hussein’s army. Coalition Forces over-watch and shadow the recruits and instructors and provide feedback to the instructors on any deficiencies they might see.

Staff Sgt. Michael Barnette of the 101 st Airborne Division’s 1 st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment overseas the training at the Scorpion academy.

“It is definitely ‘the year of the police’ here,” Barnette said. “The instructors and recruits are building daily to provide safety for the people of Iraq.”