Afghan National Army Brig. Gen Safiullah Safi, commanding general of Parwan and Pol-e-Charki Military Police Brigade, presents an Afghan National Army Soldier with the Military Police crest during a graduation ceremony at the Detention Facility in Parwan on Jan. 20. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Jason A. Boyd.
PARWAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan (Jan. 23, 2011)— The sixth cohort of Afghan National Army military police Soldiers graduated Jan. 20 from the Detention Operations Training Center in Parwan, increasing Afghan capacity to take over detention operations from the U.S.
The group of 143 Soldiers completed two weeks of language training and eight weeks of detention operations training as part of an extensive curriculum prior to assuming guard operations at the Detention Facility in Parwan.
The ten-week academic instruction is the first phase of a two-phase training curriculum the ANA Soldiers must complete before beginning work in the detention facility. The second training phase consists of six weeks of on-the-job training where ANA Soldiers work with their U.S. counterparts and learn all aspects of detention operations, including security and operations and escort of detainees to medical appointments, recreation and personal hygiene time. This training, in conjunction with academic training, prepares the ANA Soldiers to assume responsibility of the DFIP and emphasizes humane care and custody of detainees.
”The classes that I took here allowed me to get an education and helped me become a better person,” said ANA Sgt. Koczar, “I learned that we need to put down our weapons and work together to make this country great again.”
Afghan National Army Brig. Gen Safiullah Safi, commanding general of Parwan and Pol-e-Charki Military Police Brigade also spoke at the ceremony.
“It is a great day for all of you,” Safi said. “I am proud of all of the hard work you have put forth to make it this far. The training you have received has transformed you from a regular person to a professional in the Afghan National Army. This country needs experts and professional like you to help us move forward.”
More than 400 ANA military police Soldiers are currently training to augment the DFIP guard force and more than 600 are fully trained and standing guard duty inside the facility with their American counterparts or in the recently opened Afghan Housing Unit Delta. CJIATF-435 actively partners with Afghan forces in preparation for the responsible transfer of military detention operations to the government of Afghanistan.
CJIATF-435, in partnership with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and U.S. interagency and international partners, conducts operations in detention, corrections, the judicial sector and biometrics. Ultimately, conditions permitting, CJIATF-435 will transition detention operations to Afghan control while promoting Rule of Law practices.
The 46th Military Police Command, Task Force Peacekeeper, a subordinate CJIATF-435 command, oversees all detention operations at the DFIP. The task force ensures the safe and humane custody, control and care of detained persons in the DFIP. The 96th Military Police Battalion, Task Force Spartan, trains the Afghan Soldiers in detention operations and provides linguists to overcome language barriers. Their efforts will enable Afghan National Army Soldiers to assume responsibility from their American counterparts and run the detention facility.
The DFIP, a state-of-the-art theater internment facility, located several kilometers from Bagram Airfield, was completed in September 2009 and occupied by detainees in late December 2009. The DFIP is equipped with a medical facility, on-site family visitation center, vocational facilities and educational classrooms. The design of the DFIP accommodates detainee reintegration efforts and enables CJIATF-435 to better align detainee operations with the overall strategy to defeat the extremist insurgency in Afghanistan.