European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 8, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 stars and stripes sunday april82007 strained iraqis taming the Tigris River by Sandra Jontz stars and stripes Baghdad the Youngpo lice officers eyes strained in the Bright lat morning sunlight As he scoured for any anomaly Lurk ing among the Reeds and Plant life along the Tigris River Shoreline life was Calm tuesday along this several mile stretch of the Tigris but patrols along the River Arent always such smooth sail ing the iraqi policeman said you never know what might be hiding there said the 20yearold officer part of a Spe Cial operations team of the Bagh dad River police unit the policemen whose identities Are not being revealed for Security reasons make up the Bagh dad River patrol station their Headquarters station is along the Eastern Banks of the Tigris and from there they launch presence patrols in their 25foot be  equipped boats each Safe boat has two 200horsepower outboard motors sixteen unit members were schooled in september at the us naval Small Craft instruction and technical training school in Sten Nis miss they Learned offensive and defensive patrolling tactics including patrolling in formation mane vering a High Speed Craft boat boarding and responding to ambushes the stations 31yearold Captain said weve never used these techniques before the Captain said through a translator we Are trained to combat the terrorists to prevent the smuggling of goods or weapons another team will train at the school in june those who take the stateside training Are expected to return to their respective units to bring other policemen up to Speed said army it col Edwin weeks Baghdad regional support team officer in charge the Baghdad unit is just a por Tion of the nationwide Force of 268 policemen who patrol the water ways combating the transport of weapons and illegal contraband and securing the Rivers for use by Iraq Fisherman and travellers the emerging riverine Force Falls under the Tutelage of the Usan civilian police Assis Tance training team charged with organizing training equip Ping and mentoring the entire iraqi police Force us Law enforcement person Nel Are constantly on hand to pro vide advice and guidance As the roughly Twoy Earold program takes shape said Brian Clubb an International police Liaison officer under Catt police look for both criminal activity and insurgents said Clubb a police officer from Missouri while a sense of patriotism is gripping members who Are risk ing their lives to be part of the emerging iraqi Security forces reality in the Choice of their jobs also plays a Factor i want to protect my country but also i did not find another Job said a 30yearold boat gun Ner and Driver and former 12year army Veteran under Sadd am Hussein i like everything about the Job it is our duty to help people i like that part very much the iraqi policemen selected for the unit go through an Exten Sive vetting process to ensure they have Clear backgrounds and Are capable to conduct the mis Sions weeks said the Baghdad station eventually will serve As the National River Ine training Center for All of Iraq riverine forces weeks said the facility recently received a million makeover including Concrete perimeter barriers new electrical and plumb ing connections a Kitchenette bunk rooms for the police who pull 24hour shifts and Bays for the Safe boats while its Mission mainly is to protect the Waterways the Bagh dad riverine unit was used in a february offensive North of the capital City a Mission in which one police officer was Miled and three others wounded the station Captain said a River patrol unit existed Sandra and stripes an iraqi police officer mans his 50caliber machine gun tuesday while patrolling portions of the Tigris River in Baghdad under Saddam Hussein regime but focused primarily on watch ing for fishing violations in the River doing spot checks at old checkpoints along the River or re covering drowning victims the units Captain said in addition to tactical skills these policemen Are trained in maintaining and repairing the boat s hulls and outboard motors said senior chief Petty officer Mario Echeverria an instructor at the Stennis site now deployed to Baghdad the  signals have come a Long Way to being Able to run the stations on their own he said As Long As they have the fund ing there Good Echeverria added because they already have the knowledge email Sandra Jontz at ic1 w Tomfor when Small packages bring big changes our Spring Auto loan can help visit our website or ask a Community Bank associate about a 100 financed Auto loan and our easy application  credit subject to approval and Normal credit standards apply operated by member Odic