Samarra SoIs transition to policemen during ceremony in Tikrit

UNCLASSIFIED

TIKRIT, Iraq - More than 350 former Sons of Iraq members from the once
embattled city of Samarra made the transition to Iraqi policemen during
a graduation ceremony at the Iraqi Police Academy in Tikrit Nov. 6.

Hundreds were in attendance to witness the ceremony as they honored the
new policemen who now have the task of assisting in the security of one
of Iraq's most strategic cities.

This was the first major initiative for such a large group out of the
Salah ad Din province to transition into the IP force. Other SoI members
have transitioned, but the numbers were much smaller.

In recent months, the Government of Iraq has been pushing for the
transition of "awaking" group members into Iraq's workforce, with
thousands of the members already transitioned into the security forces
in other provinces.

"It is important these men see that their government is willing to take
care of them by hiring them into the security forces," said 1st Lt.
Mollie Keith, 1175th Military Police Company commander in Samarra. "They
deserved it because these men played such a dramatic role in securing
the city of Samarra."