Behind the wheel: 4th AAB Soldiers teach Iraqi police defensive driving

By Staff Sgt. Tanya Thomas, 4th AAB, 3rd ID Public AffairsNovember 10, 2010

IP Defensive Driviing
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IP Defensive Driving
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IP Driving
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AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq - As the role of U.S. forces in Iraq has shifted gears under Operation New Dawn, so has the job of some military police Soldiers serving in Anbar province. For two MPs, a day on the job now includes teaching lifesaving skills to their Iraqi counterparts.

Staff Sergeant Brendan Carey and Sgt. Chris Roman, both with the 442nd Military Police Company, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, taught a defensive driving tactics class to about 25 Iraqi Police officers, Oct. 30.

"Most people will tell you, when it comes to car accidents, that the last thing they saw was what they hit," said Sgt. Roman, a New York City native, who demonstrated threshold breaking, steering and ocular driving that will help improve the IP officers' driving skills and, in turn, prevent accidents. "We are here to help (prevent that)."

The IP officers practiced weaving in and out of cones and practiced basic techniques to escape an attack.

"A lot of these guys are (personnel security detachment) drivers and need to know basic maneuvers in case they get ambushed," Staff Sgt. Carey said. "If they come upon a threat, they need to know how to clear the area quick."

Staff Sergeant Carey said the exercise gave the Iraqi Police the opportunity to practice and learn from mistakes made during training, so they won't make the same mistakes on the road.

"We explained to them what went wrong, and now they understand it better," he said. "Overall they did very well."