Journals
Friday,Feb 29 2008, 10:32:42 PMAmerica Supports You: Group 'LEEPS' to Help Afghan
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 29, 2008 - Afghan National Police officers are getting help rebuilding from U.S and other countries' troops, but they're also getting a boost from friends they may never meet. Steve Newton started the Law Enforcement Equipment Program as a way to provide used gear for American armed forces units to use in training or equipping friendly foreign police forces. The program accepts donations of used equipment from U.S. law enforcement departments and helps get it overseas.
"We simply act as a go-between for the American law enforcement community and the military," Newton said of the organization, more commonly known as "LEEP."
Fulfilling its mission requires help on the other side of the world, however, and that's where Air Force Master Sgt. Buffie C. Verhagen comes in.
Since she's serving as a police mentor and trainer on a provincial reconstruction team, she checked out the LEEP Web site after her father, a retired Houston police officer, told her about it. She let Newton know about her work with the Afghan police officers and has been receiving equipment through the program for about a year.
The equipment is particularly welcome, too.
"The overall condition of the Afghan National Police was, and is, still in poor condition, although strides have been made toward improvements, especially with training," Verhagen said. "Any gear, including cold-weather items, or any item related to law enforcement can be used."
LEEP has stepped up, providing pistol holsters, handcuff cases, ammunition holders and tactical vests, she said. While those donated items fill a tangible void, they also work to foster trust and respect between the Afghan National Police and coalition forces.
"We tell the (Afghan National Police) that the equipment was donated from police officers in the U.S. specifically for them," Verhagen said. "This shows our commitment to their development and really shows how the U.S. as a whole is working to provide assistance."
It also tightens a bond that spans geographic boundaries. Despite the differences between American and Afghan societies, the police officers share a common bond, Verhagen said.
Verhagen, who will be returning home soon, is grateful for LEEP and what it provided her, her team and the Afghan police officers who received the equipment.
"(It's) great in that it builds relationships with a specific U.S. military member or team and then sends resources tailored to the needs of a particular area," she said. "It's a fantastic way for our U.S. police to assist a country still in dire need."
LEEP has 1,200 pounds of gear available to ship to servicemembers in Afghanistan or Iraq, its two main shipping destinations. Shipping costs have proved to be a challenge for the Missouri-based program, however, and LEEP's administrators still are working out how to get the equipment into the hands that can use it.
The Law Enforcement Equipment Program is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
Wednesday,Feb 27 2008, 06:18:01 AMTroops Help Southern Baghdad Poultry Industry
By Sgt. Luis Delgadillo, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 25, 2008 - To some, it might be laughable that the economic welfare of an entire community relies on thousands of flightless birds, but in the farming communities of southern Baghdad, chickens represent a significant way ahead. A member of the State Department's Baghdad 7 embedded provincial reconstruction team is helping these communities establish themselves as centers of poultry production.
"Some of these farmers had over 100,000 chickens at one time," said Mike Stevens, the team's agricultural advisor. Stevens, a native of Park Rapids, Minn., said farmers from Adwaniyah, Arab Jabour and Hawr Rajab lost their chickens to al Qaeda operatives who took them when they moved into the area.
In many cases, chicken coops were used to hide weapons caches, and insurgents often used the large spaces inside the coops to make homemade explosives, Stevens said. Local farmers also reported that insurgents would seize farmers' equipment and strip generators for parts.
By starting farmers unions for each of the communities, Stevens learned of the plight befalling the region's chicken farmers.
With help from soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Stevens began assessing the various agricultural industries that once thrived in the area. As part of his project, the 15-year State Department veteran also assessed chicken farms in the three tribal areas.
With information he learned about the communities, Stevens set in motion a three-pronged approach to rebuild the region's economic infrastructure.
To boost farm operations, micro-grants of up to $2,500 will be used to rebuild dilapidated chicken coops and other farm buildings. Quick response funds -- grants of up to $25,000 -- will be used to restock vacant local farms. In addition, disarming, demobilizing and reconstruction funds in amounts of up to $100,000 will be used to begin large-scale training and employment programs for people near factories such as the Al Raad slaughterhouse.
Stevens identified a local businessman who owns the poultry processing plant, which can support a work force of up to 200 employees and bring chickens to markets in the capital. Before insurgent activities, the plant owner contracted with many Hawr Rajab farmers to raise chickens for his slaughterhouse. The owner told Stevens he would trade chicken feed and a monthly stipend with farmers who guaranteed him a portion of their chickens for processing.
The plant has the potential to jumpstart the region's chicken industry, but before any profit is earned, both the factory and surrounding farms require funds to get going.
In coming weeks, live chickens will be delivered and farms in the region will begin to rebuild their coops, signaling another step toward progress for the citizens of Iraq.
(Army Sgt. Luis Delgadillo serves with the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office.)
The August newsletter of Hi Tech Criminal Justice sponsored this article.
Tuesday,Feb 26 2008, 09:19:27 PMConditions to Determine Post-Surge Troop Levels in
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 25, 2008 - Officials project five U.S. Army brigades and two Marine battalions will leave Iraq by the end of July, but it's too soon to project troop levels beyond that, a senior U.S. military officer said here today. "There is increasing pressure on al Qaeda in Iraq everywhere inside of Iraq," Army Lt. Gen. Carter F. Ham, the Joint Staff's director of operations, told reporters during a Pentagon news conference.
If current conditions continue, the projected U.S. troop strength in Iraq should drop from about 156,000 U.S. troops there now to about 140,000 servicemembers by the end of July, Ham said.
However, U.S. military force levels in Iraq, as always, remain contingent upon conditions on the ground, Ham emphasized. Establishing a firm timetable for additional troop reductions, Ham said, would not "recognize the fluid nature of the conflict in which we're engaged in, both Iraq and in Afghanistan."
About 132,000 U.S. troops were in Iraq before the surge of forces began in January 2007, Ham noted. It would be "premature at this point" to speculate if Iraq troop levels would be reduced further after July, he said.
Though senior civilian and military U.S. defense leaders "have all been clear that further reductions will occur," Ham said, the timing and the pace of those reductions is the focus of ongoing Iraq troop-strength assessments by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq; U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker; Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command; and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Crocker and Petraeus are due back in Washington sometime in April to present their assessments on conditions in Iraq and recommendations to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and President Bush. Any further possible troop reductions in Iraq would await their recommendations and resultant decisions made by Gates and the president, Ham said.
The number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan is expected to increase to 32,000 troops by mid-summer from about 28,000 there now, Ham said. Most of the increase, he noted, comes from a deployment of 3,200 additional Marines to Afghanistan.
Also at the news conference, Ham said Turkish military operations in northern Iraq against members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party terrorist group, known as the PKK, appear to be of short duration. Ham said the United States and Turkey have regular communications about the operation and that high-level Turkish and Iraqi military officials have met to discuss the issue.
In addition, Ham noted that 1,600 U.S. troops in NATO's Kosovo Force are standing by to provide assistance, if required, in the wake of violence in the northern part of the country following Kosovo's Feb. 17 declaration of independence from Serbia.
Ham also confirmed that the Feb. 21 U.S. missile launch that destroyed a malfunctioning reconnaissance satellite had indeed hit a tank full of toxic hydrazine rocket fuel that was the desired target. The hydrazine, he said, burned up or dissipated in the explosion, and there have been no reports of debris reaching Earth.
An article on small unit leadership was helpful in the production of this article.
Monday,Feb 25 2008, 08:55:14 PMLeadership
A recent Amazon customer review of Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style
“I write police promotional textbook exams and assessments for a living [...]. I'm always seeking out new and cutting edge books in the fields of police supervision, management and leadership.
So, I was very pleasantly surprised after I finished reading this unique leadership book. It presents an impressive amount of information on leadership in a fun and interesting format - with liberal use of relevant and humorous quotes, experiences and analogies. Your retention of the material will be extremely high because of the author's unique writing style and the attention-grabbing format. Both authors are highly qualified and experienced to present this material - but that's not the primary reason you should consider this book. If you are in law enforcement, entering law enforcement or looking to advance your law enforcement career, this book not only covers the basic leadership experience in a way that is lively and interesting, it makes you relate to and almost experience the hardcore, daily struggle all law enforcement supervisors and managers have with how to select, train and "grow" quality law enforcement personnel.
It took a lot of guts to write a leadership book in such a unique format. And guts is what you'll need in Poker .. and in Leadership ... and this book, if nothing else, will make you see how you can embody these leadership skills.”
More Information
Monday,Feb 25 2008, 08:07:44 PMAustin to New York
February 25, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added one police officer from the Austin Police Department and two from the NYPD.
Jimmie Davenport is a 18 year member of the Austin Police Department (Texas). He has spent 14 years in the K9 Unit. His duties have included setting up advanced training within the his K9 Unit for new and experienced handlers. Officer Jimmie Davenport also has been a SWAT K9 for ten years and has helped design the SWAT K9 program currently in use. Officer Davenport has also written K9 training columns for SWAT magazine, Police K9 Magazine and International Police Working Dog Association. Jimmie Davenport is the author of Run, But You Can't Hide.
According to the description of Run, But You Can't Hide, it “is author Jimmie Davenport, Jr.'s, wry advice to criminals faced with apprehension by a police K9. In his more than twelve years a K9 handler, including with a SWAT team, Davenport has found his confidence in his dogs more than rewarded, and his engaging account of his experiences with Stuka and Ammo reveal the training, dedication, and determination that goes into forging an effective K9 team. The drama of the stories he relates is complimented by Davenport's genuine affection for his canine partners, and the detailed narrative he has crafted draws readers into this adrenaline-fueled world, leaving us with a new appreciation for the abilities of those animals trained to assist law enforcement.”
Robert McGuire was appointed commissioner of the NYPD in 1978 and served for almost six years; making him one of the longest serving commissioners during the modern era. Robert McGuire is the author of In the Line of Fire: A Commisioner's Views on Cops and Crime.
Craig Meissner is a sergeant with the New York City Police Department. He worked patrol, as a robber investigator, patrol sergeant and training officer. Sergeant Craig Meissner has written extensively about officer safety issues and is the author of Disguised Weapons: The Law Enforcemnt Guide To Covert Guns, Knives, And Other Weapons.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 859 police officers (representing 383 police departments) and their 1805 police books in 32 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.
Contact Information:
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
