Security forces officer shows Iraqis how to defend freedom

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeff Kelly
  • 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFPN) --  For more than 12 years Maj. Jeffery Prindle has honed his skills as a professional police officer, working both as a military security forces officer and a deputy for the Charleston County Sheriff's Office. In that time, the 315th Airlift Wing reservist developed the tools necessary to assess dangerous situations and to end possible threats to his fellow officers or civilians.

Now, while serving as the commander for the 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, Detachment 6 in Mosul, Iraq, Major Prindle is using these skills to help the Iraqis build a police force of their own.

According to the major, the 50 people assigned to the detachment are helping to build and train a competent, professional and effective Iraqi police force. The Iraqis face the overwhelming task of keeping peace and protecting lives and property in the volatile nation.

The students spend nine weeks learning about ethics, democratic policing, firearms training, defensive tactics, vehicle stops, searching techniques, antiterrorism, first aid and buddy care, and improvised explosive device recognition, according to the major.

"To date the detachment's efforts have been key in the successful training and graduation of nearly 1,000 Iraqi police officers in this province," he said.

In the five month of his six-month deployment to Iraq, Major Prindle said he has learned policing in Iraq is much different than it is in the United States. While on patrol in the United States, officers do not have to stay vigilant for IEDs or mortar attacks. Likewise, officers rarely have to dodge bullets intended for them and shrapnel from grenades. In Iraq, these activities are listed in the job description. Major Prindle and Detachment 6 members have dealt with them all.

"There have been several mortar attacks here at the academy (Detachment 6) and several IEDs while on convoy duties," Major Prindle said. "I have lost one M1114 Humvee and one armored suburban. We have been engaged with small arms fire and on one occasion by a rocket-propelled grenade, which struck an M1114."

Cultural barriers are another big difference in police work in Iraq. These challenges make it a learning process not only for the Iraqi trainees but for instructors as well.

"There are a lot of tactics, techniques and procedures that we as police officers utilize in the United States that are not applicable in police operations in Iraq," Major Prindle said. "To become effective instructors, we had to take the time to learn from our students and counterparts on the Iraqi police training staff. They have done wonders to educate us on the cultural, history, effective tactics and practices of the insurgents. Though we are labeled as teachers, it is often more of a process of sharing information and improving current practices."

It's through this learning and sharing of expertise and the ability of instructors that the training program succeeds.

"(Major Prindle) is an outstanding person, who can be counted on to do any job the security forces ask of him," said Maj. Kevin Stegall, commander of Air Force Reserve Command's 315th Security Forces Squadron at Charleston AFB. "Major Prindle's experience separates him from many in our career field and, as a Charleston County Sheriff's deputy; he often goes above and beyond what is expected of him."

As his deployment nears completion, Major Prindle has had time to reflect on the challenges Detachment 6 members have overcome and the accomplishments resulting from their hard work.

"The greatest satisfaction comes from the fact that we have trained over 1,000 Iraqi police officers and knowing that we are having a significant and positive impact on the country of Iraq," Major Prindle said. "These officers play critical roles in the establishment of a stable and democratic Iraq and will serve as the strength and protectors of this great country."

(Courtesy Air Force Reserve Command News Service)