MISFIRE: Relying on TV cop shows to train Afghan police
Iraqi police recruits learn to fire small arms with the instruction of Iraqi army personnel and Marines from Multi National Forces-West Training Center. (Lance Cpl. Charles Howard/Marine Corps)
A U.S. military officer deployed to Afghanistan and assigned to train Afghan police officers admitted that he had no idea what he was doing.
So he watched TV shows like “Cops” and “NCIS” to learn what to teach the Afghan police recruits.
Maybe that’s a sign of motivation and resourcefulness for that individual officer. But it reveals a stunning failure on the part of the U.S. military.
The anecdote illustrates a larger problem — the U.S. military lacks a deployable police development capability.
The U.S. military has been deploying to dangerous places and training local police forces for more than ten years. That’s supposedly been a vital piece of the broader counter-terrorism missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But apparently not vital enough to prompt the military to actually provide police development training to the thousands of service members who have deployed in support of that mission over the past decade. That’s embarrassing.
Medals & Misfires is a new opinion feature from the Military Times editorial staff. Read more here.
A year after Marine Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola died in a blast during evacuations of the Kabul airport, Disneyland offered to host a medal presentation for him.
A steady income and benefits, a desire to help, frequent moves and deployments, and more make military members and families particular targets of scammers.