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Iraq
Emergency Response Brigades Return to Iraqi Federal Police
2011-01-24
All of the Provincial Iraqi Police Paramilitary forces are planned to be retrained and reequipped as part of their conversion to Emergency Response Brigades and Federal Police.

The ERBs have first chance at the personnel from the provincial SWAT forces. They are sent to the Operator Selection Course and the best 50 percent join the ERBs while the others return to the provincial forces or go to Federal Police training.

Only 9 of the existing 12-14 Emergency Response Battalions have been identified so far. They appear to be being organizing into 6-7 brigades at this time.

The Federal Police plans to have at least a brigade in each province while the ERF plans to mirror this with at least a battalion of SWAT personnel in each province. The Federal Police plans to grow to 16-20 divisions and the ERF to 16-20 brigades.
Iraq, a nation whose skeleton was built by the US military. Lord knows what it will become in just a decade or two.
Why does Iraq need both a federal police and a federal emergency response force? I may be missing something here; is this a duplication of services as a response to the usual human tendency to bureaucratize everything, a need to 'divide and conquer', or do they have genuinely separate roles?
Posted by: Anonymoose

#4  I guess the thing to do would be to see how much of a framework they build around these guys. Big? Little? Do they continue to fully train and equip the army?
Posted by: gorb   2011-01-24 23:29  

#3  Possibly. Also a way to federalize the provincial police forces.

But I think RJ is right. The Iraqi government thinks the police should, well, police and that there should be a separate paramilitary force to deal with the rough stuff. That leaves the military to deal with external threats.
Posted by: Pappy   2011-01-24 22:20  

#2  A way to formally roll the Sunni Paramilitaries into Federal forces so they are "on payroll"?
Posted by: tipover   2011-01-24 14:16  

#1  It looks to me as a non-duplication.
Police do the Police work and Paramilitary forces handle Invasion, Flood, Earthquake and so on, NOT normal policing, but as-needed emergency aid Over and above what the Police normally would/Could do.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2011-01-24 12:00  

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