FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska - The Soldiers of the 472nd Military Police Company returned home from a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on Aug. 13. The date also marks the second anniversary of the unit's reactivation at Fort Wainwright.
One hundred seventy Soldiers returned to Alaska and their families and friends after having served their country deployed in a combat zone.
The 472nd MPs deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom Jan. 11. During their deployment they operated in the Al-Anbar province of Iraq and more specifically in the cities and surrounding countryside of Ramadi, Habbaniyah and Fallujah.
Their mission was to train and develop the Iraqi Police into a professional policing force as well as provide security for Camp Ramadi. With the drawdown of US Forces in Iraq, the 472nd MPs were tasked with training Iraqi Police to take on new roles and responsibilities that were previously the job of US Forces or were non-existent. These new roles developed into new companies and units such as the Quick Response Force Company, Riot Company, Rescue Company and Protection Company.
The Iraqi Police selected to field these new units did not have any special training to take on these new tasks. The 472nd MPs provided them with the training, skills and practice in order to provide a professional policing service to the people in the Al-Anbar province of Iraq.
The 472nd MPs also partnered with the provincial Iraqi Police training center in order to assist and mentor the training staff to develop a professional Iraqi Police training force. At this training center the Arctic Titans assisted and provided training to new and veteran Iraqi Police. The Soldiers trained more than 1,400 Iraqi Police throughout their deployment to Iraq.
They conducted in more than 500 missions throughout the Al-Anbar province as they trained and partnered with the Iraqi Police. The 472nd MPs also conducted detainee transfers from US Forces custody to the Iraqi Justice system to ensure they were prosecuted under Iraqi law.
The 472nd Military Police Company trained and developed the Iraqi Police in the province of Al Anbar to be a better trained more professional police force.
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