The Iraqi Police

The men remind me of a New York Police Department cops. They all wear blue here. I’m not used to seeing policemen wear blue. Back home in Phoenix they wear. These guys wear long sleeve blue shirts and trousers. None of them wear shorts, as some of the policemen do in Phoenix. In fact, I’ve hardly seen any Iraqis wear shorts. I was surprised yesterday when I saw a man wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. It’s the type of apparel I’d probably be wearing back home.

Very few of the IPs were clean-shaven and approprately dressed. Most of the IPs looked very untidy with their shirts wrinkled up and their pants hanging loose around their waist. I think the best ones are the guys that have pride in their uniform and in what they do. They look unlike any policeman anywhere back in the States. I’m sure it’ll take a lot of work but I’m not sure appearance is not on the top of their list.

The IPs remind me of single soldiers. They live the life of an IP 24 hours a day. Like soldiers that live in barracks these guys live at the police station. They sleep in small rooms on bedsprings and worn mattresses. Some of them even sleep on the floor with just a blanket. The police station is their life and they live the life of a policeman day in and day out just as a soldier lives on a military post. They give their life to a cause. The sleep there, eat there, and I’m sure they bathe there too. They don’t have many amenities and there doesn’t look like there is much to do there. They seem to spend their time socializing with others, smoking, or eating.