PRESS RELEASE | Oct. 2, 2010
Third Cohort of Afghan National Army Police graduate
By None , Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435
PARWAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan (Sept. 29, 2010) — The third cohort of Afghan National Army Police graduated from the Detention Operations Training Center in Parwan Sept. 23.
The group of 189 Soldiers completed two weeks of language training and eight weeks of detention operations training as part of an extensive program they will complete prior to assuming guard operations at the Detention Facility in Parwan.
The ANA commander of Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435, Maj. Gen. Marjan Shuja, addressed the graduating class during the ceremony.
“I would like to congratulate you on graduating,” he said. “Your nation and its people are proud of you, and thank you for protecting them from harm.”
“You have proven yourself ready to go forth into the detention facility and join your fellow Soldiers and your American partners to provide humane care, custody and control of those detained within the facility here in Parwan,” said Brig. Gen. Mandi Murray, commander of Task Force Peacekeeper.
Brig. Gen. Safiullah Safi, commanding general of Parwan and Pol-e-Charki military police brigade, also addressed the Soldiers during the ceremony.
“You are now ready to go forth and work shoulder to shoulder with your American counterparts, and accomplish your mission successfully,” he said.
More than 700 Afghan National Army military police Soldiers are currently training to augment the guard force and more than 100 are fully trained and standing guard duty inside the facility with their American counterparts. 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, judicial sector and biometrics. Ultimately, the CJIATF 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 in Afghanistan. The task force ensures the safe and humane custody, control and care of detained persons in the Detention Facility in Parwan. Their efforts will enable Afghan National Army Soldiers to take over from their United States counterparts and run the detention facility.
The 96th Military Police Battalion, Taskforce Spartan, trains the Afghan Soldiers in detention operations. A group of linguists provide language support to the ANA to ensure the Soldiers can communicate with detainees in their own language.
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.