The continuing empowerment of women in Iraq.

Iraqi women graduated from a security training course at the Alabarrah Police Station in the Diyala Province of Iraq to become members of the Daughters of Iraq July 13.

One-hundred-and-thirty women attended the course and 70 represented them at the graduation.

Several Iraqi children celebrated the occasion by joyfully belting out the Iraqi National Anthem to a crowd of women ready to assist with the protection of their nation.

“We have seen some courageous, strong women stand up and volunteer for this training to help defend their country,” said Lt. Col. Robert McAleer, commander, Fires Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, as he addressed the crowd of graduates.

The Daughters of Iraq is a sister organization to the Sons of Iraq that seeks to employ more Iraqi women in roles that help provide and improve security for their nation.

“The four-day course the Iraqi women attended focused mainly on searching vehicles and personnel for weapons and explosives,” said Capt. Charles Knoll, commander, Charlie Battery, Fires Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. “There’s a critical need to have Iraqi females who can help search other Iraqi females. This will help us better detect and deter female suicide bombers in the future.”

They have performed excellently in the training they have received over the last week. You can really see they have a willingness to do what is necessary to secure their villages, said Knoll.

“At first, you could tell some of the Iraqi women were hesitant. They were a little shy, but they’ve really opened up and embraced the training,” said 2nd Lt. Rachel Roberts, a Fire Support Officer with Charlie Battery, Fires Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment.

The recent upsurge in female suicide bombers in the Diyala Province was one factor in the creation of the Daughters of Iraq.

There was a need to have more Iraqi women who were qualified to search other Iraqi women and this course will allow that to occur.

Around 130 Iraqi women attended the course led by Iraqi Police to become members of the Daughters of Iraq.

The Daughters of Iraq graduation was the first to occur in the Diyala region. The goal is to continue the program and seek to enroll more women in the course. “What we have seen here today is leadership and vision,” said McAleer.

The recent graduates will now be stationed throughout the Diyala Province in key locations where their expertise will be put to use improving security.

MNF-I

This guy’s got a knack for finding stuff, stuff that blows up. Very cool NCO story.

Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Connell, a native of Polson, Mont., and a fellow Soldier from his platoon dig for a weapons cache near a destroyed house in Baghdad, Feb. 14.

DVIDS

His call sign is Big Dawg 17, but you might as well call him “Bloodhound 17” after he and his 30-man platoon sniffed out a total of 16 buried ammunition and weapons caches over a 10-wek period.

Sgt. 1st Class Connell, 40, a native of Polson, Mont., has the reputation of being tough, but fair, on his men. He is on his fifth consecutive year as a platoon sergeant, and he runs his platoon one way – his.

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