ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq -- For members of U.S. Army Europe's 127th Military Police
Company, mission success in Iskandariyah can be measured by the success of the local
Haswah Market.
"Markets are the best way to measure success in Iskandariyah," said 1st Lt. Nathan Diaz, a platoon leader for the company's 3rd "Wolfpack" platoon.
"Sunnis feel safe enough to come back to the markets to shop and sell their products.
Insurgents drove out Sunnis in the Iskandariyah area andnow Sunnis are coming back. Six months ago you would not see this." said Diaz.
Six months ago the 127th -- part of USAREUR's 18th MP Brigade, but currently attached to Fort Hood, Texas's 720th MP Battalion here -- was battling insurgents in the area daily, as the MPs and a local infantry company kept watch over a battalion-sized battle space for more than eight months.
"It was like playing 'Whack-a-Mole.' Insurgency would flame up in one area; we would go put it out, then it would flame up somewhere else and we would go put it out," said Diaz. This process continued until the U.S. troop "surge" brought more coalition forces into the area.
"It was a giant turf war. There would be six to eight significant events a day in the area.
There were bodies in the streets every day," said Diaz.
"The surge was 'crackdown time.' We rounded up all sorts of bad guys. The Iraqi police
were very confident to do their jobs because they had all the coalition forces backing
them up," said Diaz.
"Insurgents are not safe in this area," said Capt. Madhlum Abd Al Rahman Khodor, the
Haswah police chief.
The Iraqi police are evicting people who moved illegally into the homes of the Sunnis
who fled in fear of the violence, said Diaz. They do this with the help of the Iskandariyah
local police departments
"The IPs here are a lot better than they used to be. They operate independently now," said
Diaz, who has worked alongside the Iskandariyah Police for more than 13 months.
The last few police academy classes have been heavy on Sunni graduates to even out the
Sunni and Shia numbers in the Iskandariyah District police force. Still, the Sunnis wear
masks while on patrol to hide their identity for safety reasons.
"These masked IPs just started showing up in Iskandariyah. These IPs are legendary in
the area the locals call them Masked People," said Diaz.
The reason these IPs are so effective is because of good leadership in Iskandariyah.
"The (Iraqi police) commander is working very hard, so his IPs are working very hard.
IPs reflect their leadership," said Diaz.
"These are the best IPs I have ever had," says Khodor of the Iraqi officers he leads on
patrol in Haswah daily.
The 127th's mission since arriving in Iskandariyah has been to train and support the Iraqi
police in the area so the local forces will be able to operate on their own once the
coalition withdraws.
"We are here to make the IPs as independent as possible. One day we will be gone and
they need to get by and succeed," said Diaz.
Members of the 127th meet with IP commanders in Iskandariyah often to discuss ways to
improve the IP force.
"It is amazing what these IPs do with what they have. They just don't give up. They
make the most out of what they have," said Diaz.
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